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Studies  in  Education 


SCIENCE,  ART,  HISTORY 


BY 

B.  A.  HINSDALE,  Ph.D.,  LL.D. 

Professor  of  the  Science  and  the  Art  of  Teaching  in  the  University  of 

Michigan;  Author  of  "President  Garfield  and  Education,"  "Schools 

AND  Studies,"  "The  Old  Northwest,"  "How  to  Teach  and 

Study  History,"  "The  American  Government,"   "Jesus 

as  a  Teacher,"  and  Editor  of  "The  Works 

OF  James  Abram  Garfield." 


/  ZSB£ 


CHICAGO  NEW  YORK 

Werner  School  Book  Company 


Copyright.  1896.  by  B.  a.  HINSDALE 


Zo  tbe  /IDembers  of  tbe  Battonal  Council  of 
]£&ucation: 

The  papers  that  are  here  brought  together  and  stamped 
with  the  title  "Studies  in  Education,"  in  the  range  of 
their  dates  just  cover  the  period  of  my  association  with 
you  in  what  we  familiarly  call  Tun  Council  :  1885- 
1895.  Several  of  these  papers  were  written  as  contri- 
butions to  our  discussions,  and  all  of  them  have  been 
influenced  directly  or  indirectl}''  b}^  those  discussions. 
It  seems  to  me  fitting,  therefore,  that  I  should  inscribe 
the  volume  to  j'ou.  In  so  doing,  I  wish  to  bear  witness 
to  the  great  service  that  the  Council  has  rendered  me  in 
stimulating  and  guiding  my  studies  of  educational  sub- 
jects, and  in  the  formation  of  lasting  friendships.  Bsio 
perpetua. 

B.  A.  HINSDALE. 

The  University  op  Michigan, 

Januar}'  15,  1896. 


hiOS  KHGBUBS 


PREFACE. 

In  1885  I  published  a  volume  of  papers,  mainl}-  edu- 
cational, under  the  general  title  of  "Schools  and  Studies." 
These  papers  were  selected  from  a  much  larger  number 
written  in  the  years  1870-1885.  Here  I  publish  a  sim- 
ilar selection  from  essays  and  addresses  written  during 
the  last  ten  years,  under  a  title  that  fits  almost  as  loosely. 
Many  of  them  have  been  already  published  in  some 
form,  but  not  all.  In  preparing  them  for  this  volume, 
some  have  been  abridged  and  some  expanded,  while 
all  have  been  more  or  less  revised  in  st5"le.  A  single 
paper  —  the  one  that  heads  the  column  —  has  been 
written  for  the  volume.  The  earlier  volume  was  sent 
out  in  the  hope  that,  in  this  time  of  great  educational 
activity,  it  might  serve  a  good  purpose.  That  hope  is 
now  expressed  anew. 

My  thanks  are  given  to  the  editor  and  publishers  of 
"The  Educational  Review"  for  permission  to  reprint  the 
papers  that  are  credited  to  that  publication. 

B.  A.  H. 


CONTENTS. 


I.  SOURCES  OF  PIUMAN  CULTIVATION. 

The  Problem  of  Human  Cultivation,  13;  DiflSculty  of  the  Problem, 
13-14;  Elementary  Facts  of  the  Mental  Life,  14-16;  Pedagogi- 
cal Metaphors,  16-19;  Causes  of  Mental  Growth  Divided  Into 
Two  Groups,  19 ;  The  Primary  Group :  Facts  of  Nature, 
the  Actions  of  Men,  Facts  of  the  Mind,  19-24;  Th$  Primary 
Sources  of  Cultivation  and  Their  Relations,  24-25 ;  The 
Secondary  Group :  Oral  Language,  Arts  and  Inventions, 
Symbols,  Writing,  25-26;  Remarks  on  this  Group,  27-38; 
School  Studies  Determined  in  Great  Part  by  Logic  of  Life,  39; 
Child's  Store  of  Knowledge  and  Store  of  Language  when  He 
Comes  to  School,  39-40;  Child's  Development  to  Continue  on 
Both  Lines,  40;  All  Sources  of  Knowledge  to  be  Drawn  upon, 
40-41;  Arts  of  the  School  to  be  Taught,  41  42;  Changes  in 
Education,  42;  Narrowness  of  View  the  Danger  of  the  Pres- 
ent, 42-43. 


II.  THE  DOGMA  OF  FORMAL  DIvSCIPLINE. 

The  Dogma  Defined,  44;  Committee  of  Ten  and  Other  Authorities 
Quoted,  44-46;  Analogous  Facts  in  Physical  Sphere,  46-47; 
Relations  of  Body  and  Mind,  48;  Convertibility  of  Cognition, 
Feeling,  and  Will,  48-49;  Convertibility  of  Intellectual  Activ- 
ities, 49-55;  Applications  of  Conclusions  Reached,  55-59, 
Recapitulation,  59;  Origin  of  the  Dogma  of  Formal  Disci- 
phne,  60  61. 


III.  THE  LAWS  OF  MENTAL  CONGRUENCE  AND  ENERGY 
APPLIED  TO  SOME  PEDAGOGICAL  PROBLEMS. 

Congruence  Defined,  62;  Bodily  Activities  as  Congruous  or  Incon- 
gruous, 63;  Physical  and  Psychic  States  as  Congruous  or  In- 
congruous, 63;  Fundamental  Psychic  Elements  as  Congruous 
or  Incongruous,  64-67;  Pedagogical  Rules  Deduced  from  the 
Survey,  68;  Intellectual  Activities  as  Congruous  or  Incongru- 
7 


CONTENTS. 

ous,  ()9-70;  :Mutual  Opposition  auil  Reciprocal  Aid,  70-72; 
Principles  of  Congruence  Involve  Selection  and  Grouping  of 
Studies,  72-73;  Laws  of  Mental  Energy  Stated,  72-73;  Rules 
of  Teaching  Deduced,  74-77;  Laws  of  Specific  and  Generic 
Power  Stated  and  Applied,  77-80;  The  Teacher  and  the  Text- 
Book,  SO-84;  College  and  University  Electives,  84-86;  Gradu- 
ate Studv,  8G-88;  Over-Specialization,  88-90. 


TV,  THE  SCIENCE  AND  THE  ART  OF  TEACHING. 

Science  and  Art  Defined,  91-92;  Two  Aspects  of  Art.  92-95;  Theo- 
retical Relations  of  Science  and  Art,  95-96;  Knowing  and 
Doing,  9t;-99;  The  Greek  and  Roman  "Arts,"  99-100;  Practi- 
cal Relations  of  Science  and  Art,  100-103;  Reasons  why 
Teachers  should  vStudy  the.  Science  of  Teaching,  103-105; 
Reasons  why  Teachers  Should  vStudy  the  Art  of  Teaching, 
^05-107;  Order  of  Theoretical  and  Practical  Courses  in  Peda- 
gogy, 108-110;  The  Practice  School,  110-112 


V.  "CALVINISM"  AND  "AVERAGING"  IN    EDUCATION. 

Introduction,  113;  "Calvinism"  Stated  by  President  Eliot,  114; 
Work  and  Play,  115-118;  Conception  of  Training  Involves  the 
Hard  and  Disagreeable,  118-122;  President  Eliot  on  "What 
Everybody  Ought  to  Know,"  122-123;  President  Eliot  on 
Averaging  and  Uniformity,  123-127;  Archdeacon  Farrar  on 
Variety  of  Talents,  127;  Cultivation  of  this  Variety,  127-133; 
Order  Considered,  133-135:  Power  to  Govern  and  to  Teach, 
135-1.37;  The  Teacher  Question,  1.37. 


VI.  PRE-^TDENT  ELIOT  ON  POPULAR  EDUCATION. 

President  Eliot's  "  I'orum  "  Article  Summarized,  138-139;  The 
Indictment  Embraces  Modern  Progress,  139-140;  How  Far 
True,  140-143;  The  Panacea  Tendency,  143-144;  Tendency  to 
Exalt  Human  In.stitutions,  144-145;  Tendency  to  Exaggerate 
the  _Functif)ns  of  the  School,  145-146;  Its  True  Function,  146- 
149;  0])erations  of  the  Mind  that  Education  Should  Develop, 
149;  I'ailure  of  the  Ivlementary  School  Charged,  1.50-151; 
Defects  of  Secondary  and  Higher  Education,  151-152;  President 
liliot's  Prescription,  152-1.53;  Observations  on,  15.3-160;  Stan- 
dard of  Education  the  Abilitv  to  Deal  with  .Social  and  Political 
Problems.  160;  Difficulty  of  Such  Problems,  160-163;  Feeling 
and  Will  Factors  in  Human  Affairs,  163-1(14. 


CONTENTS,  9 

VIL  THE   PEDAGOGICAL    CHAIR    IN   THE    UNIVERSITY 
AND  COLLEGE. 

The  Pedagogical  Chair  in  Germany,  Scotland,  and  the  United 
States,  166;  Definitions  of  Education,  167-169;  Research  and 
Teaching  Fundamental  Functions  of  the  University,  169;  Edu- 
cation as  a  Science,  169;  Duty  of  the  University  to  Investigate, 
169-170;  Duty  to  Investigate  Siibject  of  Education,  170-171; 
Practical  Phases  of  the  Subject,  including  the  Duty  of  the 
University  to  Furnish  Society  with  Teachers,  171-178;  History 
of  Teaching  in  the  Old  Universities,  179-181.  .  ^ 


VIII.  THE  CULTURE  VALINE  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  EDU- 
CATION. 

What  is  Meant  by  the  "Culture  Value,"  182-183;  Educational 
Systems  a  Branch  of  Law  and  of  Institutional  History,  183- 
184;  Educational  Systems  Born  of  Philosophies,  Religions, 
Civilizations,  with  Examples,  184-190;  Reflex  Influence  of 
Education  upon  Civilization,  191-192;  Value  of  Educational 
Intelligence,  192;  Ignorance  of  Education  of  Educated  Men, 
193;  Defect  of  Books  of  Historv,  19.3-194;  Cautionary  Remark, 
195-196. 


IX.  THE  TEACHER'S  PREPARATION. 

The  Teacher  must  Understand  the  Ends  of  Teaching,  197-198;  The 
Fundamental  Facts  of  Education,  198-199;  The  Teacher's  Func- 
tion, 190-200;  The  Two  Aspects  of  Knowledge,  Academical 
and  Professional,  200-201;  Distribution  of  Emphasis,  201-202; 
Academical  Preparation  not  Sufficient,  203;  Must  Precede 
Professional,  203-20-3. 


X.  HISTORY  TEACHING  IN  SCHOOLS. 

Report  of  Conference  on  History  to  the  Committee  of  Ten,  206; 
Nature  and  Growth  of  Mind,  206-207;  Secondary  Educational 
Agents,  207-208;  History  Deals  with  Actions  of  Men,  208;  The 
Record  of  Human  Experience,  209;  Educational  Value  of,  209; 
Should  Receive  more  Attention  in  the  Schools,  210;  At  what 
Time  to  be  Introduced,  211;  Ziller's  Double  Series,  211-212; 
Historial  Value  of  Stories,  212-213:  Programme  of  the  Con- 
ference, 213-214;  Programme  of  Elementary  Schools  of  Baden, 
214;  Advantages  of  German  Teaching  over  American  Teach- 
ing, 21.5;  Order  of  Topics,  215-216;  Facts  the  Staple  of  History, 
217;  Comparative  View  of  English  and  American  Students, 
217-219;  Intensive  Study  of  a  Period  or  Subject,  219-220;  Co- 
ordination, 220;  Teaching  Civics,  220-221;  Value  of  Vernacu- 
lar Studies,  221-222. 


lO  CONTENTS. 

XI.    THE  MORAL  AND  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING  OF 
CHILDREN. 

Apperception  Defined,  223-224;  Illustrated,  225-226;  Influence  oi' 
Environment  on  the  Mind,  226;  Conclusions  Flowing  from 
Doctrine  of  Apperception,  227-230;  Material  Things  and  Spir- 
itual Ideas,  2.31;  Three  Spheres  in  which  Religion  Moves,  231- 
232;  Origin  of  Moral  and  Civic  Habits  and  Ideas,  232-234;  Re- 
lation of  Religion  to  Ethics,  235;  Rousseau's  Ideas,  235-237; 
Need  of  Positive  Teaching.  237;  Words  of  Admonition,  237- 
23!i;  Intellectual  Apparatus  that  Directly  Affects  the  vSpiritual 
Life  Simple,  2.39;  Material  for  Spiritual  Instruction,  240;  Pru- 
dential Remarks,  241-243. 

XII.     PAYMENT  BY  RESULTS. 

Beginniugs  of  Popular  Education  in  England,  244-245;  Govern- 
ment Intervention,  245-246;  Government  Inspectorship  of 
vSchools,  246;  The  ''Code,"  247;  Origin  of  Payment  by  Results. 
247-249  ;  Dissatisfaction  with  Existing  Svstem  of  Popular 
Education,  249;  Elementary  Education  Act  of  1870,  249-250; 
Features  of  the  Act,  250-251 ;  Payment  bv  Results  Explained, 
251-254;  The  Principle  Characterized  by  Matthew  Arnold,  254; 
Working  of,  254-256;  Consequences  if  the  vSystem  Should  be 
Established  in  the  United  States,  257. 


XIII.     THE  BUSINESS  SIDE  OF  CITY  SCHOOL  SYSTEMS. 

Character  of  the  School  System  of  a  Republican  State,  258-259; 
Relations  of  the  People  to  the  Schools,  259;  Schools  as  an  Or- 
ganization of  Business  and  as  an  Organization  of  In.struction, 
21)0-262;  Constitution  and  Powers  of  the  Board,  262-265;  Selec- 
tion of  Board  Members,  265-2()9;  Mode  of  Board  Administra- 
tion, including  Executive  Departments,  269-272;  Plan  Recom- 
mended would  Lead  to  Reforms,  272-273. 


XIV.     THE  AMERICAN  SCHOOL  SUPP:RINTENDENT. 

Status  of  the  Superintendency,  272-273;  Supervision  of  Schools 
Originally  Exerci.sed  by  School  Committees  and  Boards,  273- 
275;  The  Principal  or  Master,  275;  Visiting  Committees,  276; 
Increasing  Comjjlexity  of  School  Systems  Leads  to  P^iller  Or- 
ganization, 27<')-277;  The  High  School  as  a  h'actor  in  vSchool 
Organiz.'ition,  277-27.S;  Dr.  Fitch  on  Powers  and  Duties  of  Su- 
])erinten(lents,  27.S-279;  Powers  and  Duties  of  tlie  Su])erinten- 
dent  not  Defined  by  Law,  279-280;  P'uller  Specialization  to  be 
Anticipated,  280-281;  Pedagogical  Superintendents  and  Busi- 


CONTENTS.  1 1 

ness  Superintendents,  281;  Future  Movements  along  These 
Unes,  281-282;  In  Large  Cities,  282-283;  In  Small  Cities,  283- 
285. 


XV.     THE  EDUCATIONAL   FUNCTION  OF   THE  MODERN 

STATE. 

The  Progress  of  Democracy  in  State  and  Church,  289-291;  In  Edu- 
cation, 291-295;  How  Shall  the  People  be  Educated?  295;  Co.st 
of  Education  in  the  United  States,  295-296;  Voluntary  Effort 
Inadequate,  296-298;  Failure  of  Voluntary  Effort  in  England, 
298-302;  Only  the  State  can  Make  Education  Uniyersal,  302; 
Educational  Expenditures  of  England  and  France,  303;  Char- 
aracter  of  the  Modern  State,  30-l:  What  State  Education 
Means,  305-309;  Difference  betAyeen  the  Ancient  and  the  Mod- 
ern State,  309-310;  Archbishop  Ireland  on  Public  Education 
Quoted,  310-311;  Democratic  Spirit  of  ]\Iodern  Education,  311- 
312. 


XVI.    SOME  vSOCIAL  FACTORS  IN  POPULAR  EDUCATION 
IN  THE  UNITED  vSTATES 

Montesquieu  Quoted,  313;  Relation  of  Education  to  Civil  Society 
as  a  Whole,  314-315;  Areas  of  Territory  Occupied  by  Certain 
Maxitna  and  Minivia  of  Population,  316-317;  Economical  Sig- 
nificance of  the  Statistics,  317-318;  Educational  Significance, 
318-321;  Means  of  Communication,  321;  North  Atlantic  and 
South  Atlantic  States  Considered  in  Respect  to  Density  of  Pop- 
ulation, 322-323;  City  Population.  324;  City  Population  as  an 
Educational  Factor,  324-325;  The  Race  Question  in  Education, 
325-328;  Value  of  Property  in  the  United  States,  328-329;  Ed- 
ucational Bearings  of  its  Distribution,  330-332;  Ratio  of  Adult 
Males  to  Population,  332;  Illiteracy,  333-334;  Comparative 
Statistics  of  North  Atlantic  and  South  Atlantic  States,  335- 
336;  Reflections  Suggested  bv,  336-338. 


XVII.    TWENTY  YEARS   OF  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  IN  ROME. 

Church  of  S.  Clemente,  History  of,  3.39-340;  A  Type  of  Rome,  341; 
Human  Questions  Presented  to  the  Visitor  to  Rome,  341-342; 
Introduction  of  Public  vSchools,  342;  First  Year  of  Public 
Schools,  343;  Gro\yth  of  the  System,  343-344;  Historical  View 
of  1890,  344-345;  Educational  Expenditures,  346;  The  School 
Regina  Margherita;  347-348;  Elementary  Instruction  in  Italy 
Compared  with  Germany,  348;  Salaries  of  Teachers,  349;  De- 
crease of  Illiteracy,  350. 


12  CONTENTS. 

XVIII.    RELIGIOUS  INSTRUCTION  IN  THE  SCHOOLS  OF 
GERMANY. 

.A theism,  Skepticism,  etc.,  in  Germany,  Zr)2;  Not  Due  to  Lack  of 
Religious  Teaching  in  the  Schools,  .S5.S;  Schools  of  Saxony  and 
Prussia,  S.">8;  The  Saxon  Course  in  Religion,  'i'A-Si'Ar,  Course 
Compulsory,  3oG;  Royal  Decrees  of  Prussia,  8.57;  State  Church 
Iilea,  .%8;  Confessional  Schools,  .>'J8-359;  Moral  Results  Con- 
sidered, .859-3(50;  The  Established  Churches,  360-3G3;  Charac- 
ter of  Religious  Teaching,  363;  Relation  of  Dogma  and  Life, 
363-364;  German  System  a  Failure  in  Prussia,  365;  The  Bible 
in  American  vSchools,  366. 


XIX.  EDUCATION  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

The  Swiss  Centennials  of  1891,  367;  History  of  Culture  in  Switzer- 
land, 367-368;  Education  a  Matter  of  Federal  and  Cantonal 
Concern,  368;  Provisions  of  Federal  Constitution,  368-369; 
The  Polytechnicum  at  Ziirich,  .3t)9;  Compulsion,  369-370; 
Cantons  Compared,  371-372;  Educational  Stati.stics,  372-373; 
Teachers  and  Inspectors,  373-374;  School  Control,  374;  Salaries, 
374-375. 


XX.  THE  HACK\VARI)NP:SS  OF  POPULAR  EDUCATION  IN 
ENGLAND. 

The  Problem  Stated,  376;  The  Established  Church,  376-.377;  Aris- 
tocracy, 377-378;  The  Character  of  the  P^nglish  Mind,  378-380; 
The  Universities,  .380;  The  Word  "Revolution,"  380-381; 
Oxford,  381-:'>82;  Individual  Initiative,  .'582;  Mr.  Bryce's 
Simile,  383;  Different  Course  of  PC  vents  in  the  Northern  King- 
dom, 383-384. 


STUDIES  IN  EDUCATION. 

I. 

SOURCES  OF  HUMAN  CULTIVATION. 

O  other  transformation  that  men  are  permitted 
to  witness  is  so  marked  in  character  as  the 
transformation  wrought  in  the  mind  of  one  of 
their  own  number  in  his  passage  from  feeble 


infancy  to  the  maturity  of  adult  life.  No  other  is  so  in- 
teresting, so  important,  or  so  necessary  to  be  understood. 
The  seed  and  the  plant,  the  egg  and  the  bird,  are  not  tc 
be  mentioned  in  comparison.  Only  one  transformation 
that  history  presents  to  our  view  is  worthy  to  be  com- 
pared to  it,  and  that  is  the  analogous  transformation  seen 
in  the  life  of  a  tribe  or  a  society  of  men  as  it  passes  from 
low  savagery  to  high  civilization.  The  causes  that  effect 
this  transformation  in  the  individual  man  I  propose  to 
examine,  offering  also  some  remarks  on  the  transforma- 
tion itself  In  other  words,  I  am  about  to  map  out  the 
territory  covered  by  the  phrase,    "Human  Cultivation." 

It  is  first  to  be  observed  that  the  subject  presents  diffi- 
culties that  are  in  part  insuperable.  The  cultivation  of 
the  individual  begins  in  the  mysterious  region  of  infancy; 
and  as  no  memory  of  what  occurred,  in  this  region  in  our 
own  case  remains,  and  as  the  infant  can  give  us  no  account 
whatever  of  his  own  experience,  and  would  not  be  an  in- 
fant if  he  could,  we  are  thrown  back  upon  our  own 
observation  for  facts  and  our  own  interpretation  of  the 
facts  observed.     But  such  observation  and  interpretation 


14  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

are  peculiarly  difficult.  Facts  of  the  spirit  are  the  most 
subtile  and  elusive  of  all  facts,  and  particularly  those  of 
the  infant  spirit.     With  great  reason  has  it  been  asked: 

Who  can  tell  what  a  baby  thinks  ? 

Who  can  follow  the  gossamer  links 

By  which  the  manikin  feels  his  way 

Out  from  the  shore  of  the  great  unknown, 

Blind,  and  wailing,  and  alone, 

Into  the  light  of  day  ? 

What  does  he  think  of  his  mother's  eyes? 
What  does  he  think  of  his  mother's  hair? 
What  of  the  cradle-roof  that  flies 
Forward  and  backward  through  the  a-.  ? 
What  does  he  think  of  his  mother's  breast — 
Bare  and  beautiful,  smooth  and  white, 
Seeking  it  ever  with  fresh  delight — 
Cup  of  his  life  and  couch  of  his  rest? 
What  does  he  think  when  her  quick  embrace 
Presses  his  hand  and  buries  his  face 
Deep  where  the  heart-throbs  sink  and  swell. 
With  a  tenderness  she  can  never  tell  ? 

But  the  fact  that  we  are  unable  to  answer  these  ques- 
tions fully  is  no  excuse  for  not  making  the  best  answer 
that  we  can.  Let  us  then  begin  with  the  most  elementary 
facts  of  the  mental  life. 

The  first  of  these  is  the  mind  itself.  While  we  are 
iniable  to  tell  what  the  mind  is,  we  readily  discover 
some  very  interesting  things  about  it.  First,  it  is 
active,  self-active  as  the  philosophers  say,  and  this  activ- 
ity is  its  characteristic  attribute.  Through  its  activity 
the  mind  grows  or  expands;  or,  to  express  the  same  fact 
in  other  language,  it  accumulates  experience  or  gath- 
ers knowledge.  The  mind  is  one,  a  unit,  and  has  no 
parts,  but  it  acts  in  several  different  fields  or  spheres,  or 
has  a  variety  of  experiences,  and  in  this  way  its  so-called 


HUMAN    CULTIVATION.  I5 

powers  or  faculties  are  developed.  Again,  the  mind  grows 
or  acquires  knowledge  only  through  its  activit}'.  And 
still  further,  the  mental  growth  or  accumulation  that 
comes  in  this  wa3Mve  call  cultivation  and  education,  using 
those  terms  in  their  broadest  sense. 

The  mind  cannot  act,  ard  so  cannot  grow,  if  it  is  left 
to  itself.  Mental  activity  depends  upon  stimulation  or 
excitation,  and  this  can  come  in  the  first  instance  only 
from  the  outside.  An  object  to  be  known  is  as  essential  to 
knowledge  as  a  mind  to  know.  Accordingh',  the  second 
elementary  fact  to  be  considered  is  some  reality  external 
to  the  mind  itself — what  is  sometimes  called  the  world. 

Perhaps  some  would  pause  here.  But  it  will  conduce  to 
clearness  to  recognize  a  third  fundamental  educational 
condition.  This  is  the  mind  and  reality  in  contact.  The 
speculative  relation  of  the  two  factors  we  may  leave  to  the 
metaphysicians;  the  practical  fact  of  contact  we  must 
emphasize.  Until  such  relation  is  established,  there  is  no 
mental  activity,  and  so  no  mental  growth;  the  moment  it 
is  established,  activity  begins,  and,  progressively,  the 
mind  knows,  objects  are  known,  knowledge  begins  to 
exist,  and  education  takes  its  ri.se. 

Properly  speaking,  knowledge  has  no  existence  outside 
of  the  mind;  it  is  a  continuous  state  of  mind;  if  mind 
should  cease  to  know,  knowledge  would  cease  to  exist. ^ 

'"But  Casaubon's  books,  whatever  their  worth,  were  not  the 
man.  The  scholar  is  greater  than  his  books.  The  result  of  his 
labors  is  not  so  many  thousand  pages  in  folio,  but  himself  The 
'Paradise  L,ost'  is  a  grand  poem,  but  how  much  grander  was  the 
living  soul  that  spoke  it!  Yet  poetry  is  much  more  of  the  essence 
of  the  soul,  is  more  nearly  a  transcript  of  the  poet's  mind,  than 
a  volume  of  'notes'  can  be  of  the  scholar's  mind.  It  has  been 
often  said  of  philosophy  that  it  is  not  a  doctrine  but  a  method. 
No  philosophical  sj'stems,  as  put  upon  paper,  embody  philosophy. 
Philosophy  perishes  in  the  moment  that  you  would  teach  it. 
Knowledge  is  not  the  thing  known,  but  the  mental  habit  which 
knows.  So  it  is  with  learning." — Mark  Pattison:  Isaac  Casait- 
bon,  p.  488. 


l6  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

Men  do  indeed  speak  of  books  and  libraries  as  containing 
knowledge.  What  books  and  libraries  do  in  fact  contain, 
is  s\-mbols  of  knowledge  that  are  dead  and  meaningless 
until  they  are  read  by  a  mind  that  knows  them.  However, 
as  usage  justifies  the  objective  sense  of  the  word,  and  it  is 
convenient,  we  may  use  knowledge  in  that  signification. 

The  relation  of  knowledge  to  the  mind  may  properly 
occup)'  our  attention  a  little  longer.  That  such  a 
relation  exists,  men  must  have  discovered  the  moment 
that  knowledge  became  the  subject  of  reflection,  and 
they  expressed  the  fact  in  the  only  way  that  was  open 
to  them.  The  relation  is  a  philosophical  idea,  and  they 
conceived  it,  as  they  conceived  other  philosophical  ideas, 
under  a  physical  image.  The  conception  of  knowledge  is 
governed  by  the  conception  of  the  mind  and  is  represented 
in  the  same  way.  Philosoph}^  having,  for  reasons  that 
are  here  immaterial,  no  vocabulary  of  its  own,  borrows 
one  from  physics  and  then  proceeds  to  spiritualize  it. 
Some  examples  of  this  process  will  emphasize  the  fact  and 
also  help  on  the  general  inquiry. 

One  of  the  earliest  and  best  educational  metaphors 
makes  the  mind  an  organism  and  knowledge  food  for  its 
nourishment.  Sometimes  it  is  assumed  to  resemble  a 
plant  and  .sometimes  an  animal.  This  is  the  most  common 
way  of  representing  knowledge  or  doctrine  in  the  Bible. 
The  man  who  meditates  in  the  law  of  the  lyord  is  like  a  tree 
planted  by  the  rivers  of  water  that  brings  forth  its  fruit  in 
its  season.  Di.sciples  who  have  neglected  their  opportuni- 
ties to  learn  have  need  of  milk  and  not  of  strong  meat. 
Every  one  that  u.ses  milk  is  a  babe,  while  strong  meat 
belongs  to  them  that  are  of  full  age.  The  underlj-ing  idea 
is  that  of  growth  or  development.  As  a  new-born  babe, 
the  disciple  should  desire  the  pure  milk  of  the  word  that 
he  may  grow  thereby.     The  terms  that  are  employed  to 


HUMAN   CULTIVATION. 


17 


represent  this  view  of  education  are  considerably  varied. 
The  mind  "hungers"  and  "thirsts";  it  "digests"  and 
"assimilates;"  it  is  "nourished"  and  "strengthened," 
while  the  teacher  '  'feeds' '  the  pupil.  It  is  in  this  way  that 
the  New  Testament  presents  the  relation  of  the  minister  to 
the  church.  He  is  a  pastor  or  shepherd,  and  is  enjoined  to 
feed  his  flock.  The  metaphors  that  fall  into  this  group 
may  be  called  biological  metaphors,  as  they  are  sug- 
gested by  the  phenomena  of  life. 

A  second  group  of  pedagogical  metaphors,  almost  as 
common  as  the  biological  ones,  are  derived  from  archi- 
tecture. The  mind  is  a  structure  or  edifice  that  is  '  'built, ' ' 
"constructed,"  or  "formed";  knowledge  is  building- 
material;  the  teacher  is  an  artificer,  and  his  educational 
ideal  is  a  plan  or  model.  According  to  this  conception, 
the  mind  has  a  foundation,  apartments,  stories,  and  win- 
dows (although  this  last  metaphor  is  used  also  when 
knowledge  is  considered  as  light).  This  imagery  is  also 
of  frequent  use  in  the  Bible.  The  terms  ' '  building  "and 
' '  temple  ' '  are  used  to  symbolize  the  Church  and  also  the 
individual  Christian.  An  Apostle  likens  himself  to  a 
' '  wise  master-builder. ' '  Great  stress  is  laid  on  ' '  edifica- 
tion" and  "edifjdng,"  or  "upbuilding;"  charity  "edi- 
fies." The  statement,  "He  that  speaks  (that  is,  in 
the  church)  edifieth  himself  "  recognizes  the  pedagogical 
truth  that  to  teach  is  an  excellent  way  to  learn — a  truth 
that  has  been  repeated  times  without  number  from  an- 
cient days. 

Thirdly,  mental  growth  is  pictured  in  language 
that  properly  belongs  to  physical  exercise;  excitement  of 
some  kind  stimulates  a  muscle  or  nerve  to  action,  and 
this  again  stimulates  nutrition.  But  this  nutrition  does 
more  than  simply  supply  the  waste  that  activity  has 
caused;  the  muscle  or  nerve  is  strengthened  or  enlarged. 


l8  STUDIES    IX    EDUCATION. 

The  words  "  exercise  "  and  "  discipline,"  and  even  "  ac- 
tivity "  itself,  fall  into  this  category.  Here  we  meet  all 
the  pedagogical  metaphors  that  are  furnished  by  the 
gymnasium  and  the  playground.  Very  naturally,  con- 
sidering their  peculiar  genius,  and  especially  their  view 
of  physical  perfection,  the  Greeks  made  this  a  favorite 
mode  of  representing  pedagogical  facts  and  ideas,  just  as 
it  was  natural  that  the  Latins,  with  their  peculiar  genius, 
should  draw  their  educational  vocabulary  mainly  from 
agriculture  and  war. 

Warfare  has  made  its  contribution  to  the  pedagogical 
vocabulary.  "  Drill  "  comes  to  us  from  this  source,  and 
so  does  "  education"  itself.  This  last  means  etymologic- 
ally  to  "  draw  out  "  or  to  "  lead  out,"  and  it  was  orig- 
inally applied  to  physical  acts  merely.  Thus,  a  soldier 
"educates"  his  sword  from  its  sheath,  and  a  general 
"  educates  "  his  army  in  battle  array. 

These  are  a  few  of  the  many  pedagogical  metaphors. 
There  has  been  some  discussion  of  the  relative  values  of 
the  several  groups.  The  truth  is  that  no  analogical  theory, 
nor  all  such  theories  together,  exhaust  the  content  of 
mind  and  education.  These  metaphors  are  but  adumbra- 
tions of  spiritual  facts  that  we  are  unable  to  express  fulh'. 
The  mechanical  analogies  balance  the  biological  ones, 
and  vice  versa:  but  the  mind  is  neither  a  seed  nor  a  build- 
ing, or  a  combination  of  both ;  neither  is  the  teacher  a 
gardener  or  a  carpenter,  or  half  one  and  half  the  other. 
The  pedagogical  metaphors  all  present  interesting  phases  or 
facets  of  the  one  grand  process  and  result ;  they  supplement 
and  correct  one  another;  but  they  present  the  mind  as  a 
kaleidoscope  and  not  as  a  living  unity.  We  may  observe 
further  that  the  Engli.sh  language,  owing  to  its  compos- 
ite character,  is  particularly  rich  in  pedagogical  terms, 
so  that  the  Engli.sh-speaking  teacher  is  able  to  look  at  his 


HUMAN    CULTIVATION.  I9 

work,  through  his  own  speech,  from  more  points  of  view 
than  any  other  teacher. 

The  causes  of  mental  stimulation,  and  so  of  mental 
growth,  are  divisible  into  two  great  groups,  the  primary 
and  the  secondar}-. 

I.       THE    PRIMARY    GROUP. 

These  require,  at  the  present  stage  of  the  discussion, 
no  general  characterization.  They  are  divisible  into  three 
sub-groups. 

1.  Facts  of  Nature;  External  Realities. — Every  material 
object  presents  to  the  mind  one  or  more  points  of  con- 
tact, and  as  soon  as  the  mind  seizes  upon  one  of  them 
that  marvelous  stream  of  activity  which,  at  different 
stages  and  under  different  aspects,  we  call  sensation,  per- 
ception, conception,  memory,  apperception,  thought, 
imagination,  pleasure  and  pain,  choice  and  volition,  begins 
to  flow.  The  child's  first  world,  properly  speaking,  is 
neither  external  nor  internal;  he  does  not  discriminate 
between  his  own  body  and  the  surrounding  objects,  and 
much  less  between  his  mind  and  such  objects;  all  things 
are  presented  to  him  as  one  inseparable  mass.  Moreover, 
the  child's  first  world  is  a  very  small  world,  embracing 
only  the  objects  that  lie  within  his  ken.  At  the  very  first, 
he  has  no  "ken";  he  is  blind  and  deaf,  and  merely  feels; 
when  he  begins  to  see  and  to  hear,  he  sees  and  hears  things 
in  close  connection  with  his  eyes  and  ears;  and  it  is  but 
slowly  that  he  conceives  the  ideas  of  separateness,  exter- 
nality, depth,  and  distance.  For  his  purpose  the  poet  has 
chosen  his  objects  well;  still,  the  mother's  eyes,  hair,  and 
breast,  and  the  cradle-roof,  as  particular  objects  of  knowl- 
edge, mark  a  considerably  advanced  stage  in  the  child's 
mental  life.     I  shall  not  seek  to  analyze  the  processes  by 


20  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

which  the  child's  homogeneous  world  is  gradually  i esolved 
into  a  heterogeneous  one.  My  main  purpose  is  to  em- 
phasize the  fact  that  those  material  objects  which  are  right 
about  the  child  are  the  things  that  first  fasten  themselves 
upon  his  mind,  and  so  are  the  first  to  be  known.  In  the 
first  stages  of  knowledge  the  child  is  wholly  at  the  mercy 
of  his  environment,  as  much  so  as  the  whelp  in  the  kennel 
or  the  cub  in  the  jungle.  Furthermore,  this  environment 
is  for  the  most  part  predetermined;  for  the  rest,  it  is  con- 
trolled by  the  nu^  se,  the  mother,  and  other  members  of  the 
family;  at  most,  such  selective  power  of  objects  as  the 
child's  own  mind  can  assert  is  purely  instinctive  and  spon- 
taneous. How  important  an  element  such  natural  selection 
is,  we  have  no  means  of  knowing,  but  it  is  absolutely  limited 
by  the  environment.  It  is  worth  remarking,  too,  that  the 
influence  of  environment  when  the  child-nature  is  soft 
and  easily  colorable  is  great,  far  bej'ond  our  power  to 
measure  it. 

We  will  assume  that  the  first  objects  to  arrest  a  child's 
attention,  and  to  be  separated  from  the  surrounding  mass 
of  objects,  are  his  own  hands.  But  they  do  not  satisfy 
him.  He  reaches  out  to  other  and  remoter  things. 
Through  every  inlet  and  avenue  sensations,  which  form 
the  raw  material  of  knowledge,  are  poured  into  his  mind 
and  are  slowly  elaborated  into  ideas.  The  child  is  an 
inductive  philosopher.  He  learns  his  first  lessons  bj^ 
observation,  experiment,  and  reflection.  Every  circle 
that  he  makes  about  the  room  in  his  nurse's  arms,  every 
excursion  beyond  its  walls,  is  an  exploring  expedition  in 
the  dark  continent  that  shuts  him  in.  Biting  on  his  rub- 
ber, twisting  the  neck  of  his  doll,  beating  the  floor  with 
his  heels  and  the  table  with  a  spoon,  he  la^-s  the  founda- 
tion of  his  future  scientific  knowledge.  Progressivel}',  he 
comes  into  contact  with  further  objects;  he  conquers  the 


HUMAN    CULTIVATION.  21 

5'ard,  street,  and  field  on  his  way  to  the  conquest  of  the 
mountain,  the  sea,  and  the  sky. 

While  we  call  the  child's  mental  progress  slow,  it  is 
really  rapid  considering  all  the  factors  that  enter  into 
the  account.  It  would  be  immeasureably  slower  than 
it  is,  did  not  our  first  ideas  assist  us  in  acquiring  later 
ones.  As  has  been  said,  the  child's  "perceptions  are  not 
heaped  up  like  dead  treasures,  but  almost  as  soon  as  ac- 
quired they  become  living  forces  that  assist  in  the  assimi- 
lation of  new  perceptions,  thus  strengthening  the  power 
of  apprehension.  They  are  the  contents  of  the  soul,  that 
now  permanently  assert  themselves  in  the  act  of  percep- 
tion. For  wherever  it  is  at  all  possible,  the  child  refers 
the  new  to  the  related  older  ideas.  With  the  aid  of 
familiar  perceptions,  he  appropriates  that  which  is  foreign 
to  him  and  conquers  with  the  arms  of  apperception  the 
outer  v/orld  which  assails  his  senses."^ 

2.  The  Acts  of  Men;  The  Objective  Realities  of  Life. — 
From  the  first  the  child  is  brought  into  contact  with  a 
second  order  of  facts.  These  are  the  deeds  of  men,  which, 
in  due  course  of  time,  are  discriminated  from  the  move- 
ments of  things  and  the  actions  of  animals.  Their  dis- 
tinguishing character,  which,  however,  the  child  does  not 
at  first  perceive,  is  that  they  express  intelligence,  feeling, 
and  will.  Further,  the  child  discovers  that  some  things  he 
may  do,  and  some  things  he  may  not  do.  This  is  not  due 
to  natural  barriers,  but  to  human  barriers.  He  does  not 
at  first  know  the  power  of  a  will  as  a  will,  but  onl}'  as  a 
force;  but  progressively  control,  restraint,  obedience, 
authority,  law,  rule,  and  government  are  learned  as  mere 
objective  facts.  They  are  but  slowly  separated  from  the 
analogous  physical  facts,  and  are  never  fully  separated 
until  the  child  has  found  the  cause  and  the  signification 
of  social  facts  in  the  third  group  of  primary  realities. 

^  Dr.  Lange:  Apperception,  p.  55. 


22  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

3.  Facts  of  the  Mind;  Spiritual  Realities. — It  is  in 
tlie  nursery  and  the  home  also  that  the  child  first  meets 
the  things  of  the  spirit.  Here  it  is  that  he  learns  those 
fundamental  ideas  of  government  and  social  relation 
that  are  afterwards  developed  in  general  societ}'  and  in 
the  state. 

At  some  time  the  child  begins  faintly  to  discriminate 
between  the  cradle-roof  and  the  nurse  who  rocks  it.  The 
time  comes  when  he  begins  to  see  that  his  mother's  breast, 
hair,  and  eyes  are  not  his  mother.  He  makes  no  account 
of  definitions;  he  has  no  use  for  "matter"  and  "mind," 
"bod}'"  and  ".spirit;"  but  the  elementary  facts  of  rational 
existence  begin  to  orb  themselves  in  his  consciousness. 
His  own  ideas  and  feelings  interpret  to  him  the  ideas  and 
feelings  of  others.  Other  minds  are  measured  by  his  own 
mind.  He  ma}'  beat  his  hobby-horse  and  his  nurse 
indifferentl}'  when  they  displease  him;  but  this  act,  which 
originates  in  blind  impulse  and  is  strengthened  by  habit, 
nevertheless  hastens  a  fuller  discrimination  of  the  two 
orders  of  being. 

The  child's  higher  education  now  begins  in  earnest. 
He  has  felt  the  power  of  spiritual  realities.  As  he  learns 
hardness  by  beating  the  floor  with  his  heels;  resistance, 
by  bumping  his  head  against  the  wall  or  door;  strength, 
by  breaking  his  toys;  heat,  b}-  burning  his  hand;  weight, 
by  dropping  a  hammer  on  his  toe,  and  sharpness,  by  cut- 
ting his  finger  with  a  knife:  so  he  learns  what  intelligence, 
feeling,  and  will,  order,  right,  and  wrong,  aversion, 
sympathy,  and  affection,  are  through  contact  with  nurse, 
parents,  brothers,  sisters,  and  playmates.  He  discerns 
the  spiritual  elements  that  constitute  authorit}^  and  gov- 
ernment, ap]:)roval  and  disapproval,  rewards  and  punish- 
ment, whicli  before  had  been  to  him  but  objective  facts. 
And  not  onlv  are  these  ideas  formed,  but  the  institutions 


HUMAN    CULTIVATION.  23 

that  express  them  are  in  time  duly  recognized — the  family, 
society,  and  the  state. 

The  child  finally  becomes  introspective  and  knows  him- 
self. On  the  basis  of  the  natural  consciousness,  self-con- 
sciousness is  developed.  His  ideas  and  feelings  are  reali- 
ties that  stimulate  his  mind  and  create  new  realities.  The 
subjective  becomes  objective.  Old  thought  becomes  ma- 
terial for  new  thought.  It  is  ver\'  true  that  the  normal  child 
develops  slowly  along  this  line.  He  first  marks  off  his  body 
ft-om  other  objects.  Then  he  distinguishes  between  his 
bod}''  and  his  mind,  and  learns  the  meaning  of  the  word 
"self."  Few  are  the  persons  who  ever  had  or,  at  least, 
can  recall  such  an  experience  as  the  one  related  by 
Richter.  "  On  a  certain  forenoon  I  stood,  a  very  young 
child,  within  the  house-door,  and  was  looking  out  toward 
the  wood  pile,  as,  in  an  instant,  the  inner  revelation,  T  am 
I,'  like  lightning  from  heaven,  flashed  and  stood  brightly 
before  me;  in  that  moment  had  I  seen  mj^self  as  I,  for  the 
first  time  and  forever."  '  But  this  revelation,  when  it 
comes,  marks  the  next  step  in  development,  following  the 
discrimination  between  the  things  of  the  body  and  the 
things  of  the  spirit. 

The  baby  new  to  earth  and  sky, 

What  time  his  tender  palm  is  prest 
Against  the  circle  of  the  breast, 

Has  never  thought  that  "this  is  I:" 

But  as  he  grows  he  gathers  much, 
And  learns  the  use  of  '  'I' '  and  "me, ' ' 
And  finds  "I  am  not  -what  I  see,'' 

And  other  than  the  things  I  touch. 

So  rounds  he  to  a  separate  mind. 

From  whence  clear  memory  may  begin, 
As  thro'  the  frame  that  binds  him  in 

His  isolation  grows  defined. 

^  Quoted  by  Dr.  Porter  :  The  Human  Intellect,  p.  101. 


24  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

The  birth  of  self-consciousness  marks  the  entrance  of 
the  child  upon  the  third  and  last  stage  of  primary  educa- 
tion, in  the  present  sense  of  that  term.  Its  ethical  im- 
portance is  very  great.  Moral  thoughtfulness  now  begins, 
feeble  of  course  at  first.  Man  communes  with  his  own 
heart,  and  his  spirit  makes  diligent  search.  He  com- 
munes with  his  own  heart  upon  his  bed,  and  is  still-  He 
examines  himself,  whether  he  is  in  the  faith. 

The  three  groups  of  facts  that  have  just  been  described 
are  the  primordial  sources  of  human  cultivation.  With 
them  the  education  of  the  race  began.  With  them  the 
education  of  every  member  of  the  race  begins.  In  both 
the  general  sphere  and  the  individual  sphere,  they  ante- 
date teachers  and  schools  and  education  as  those  terms  are 
commonly  understood.  It  can  hardly  be  too  much  insisted 
upon  that,  in  direct  attrition  between  the  mind  and  nature, 
human  society,  and  the  mind  itself  natural  knowledge, 
moral  knowledge,  and  philosophical  knowledge  originate. 
Man's  cultivation  can  never  begin  with  books  and  libra- 
ries. Both  history  and  per.sonal  experience  tell  us  that 
there  is  an  earlier  culture;  a  culture  derived  from  the 
earth,  the  sky,  and  the  sea,  the  family,  the  camp,  and  the 
market-place,  and  from  communion  with  the  thoughts  and 
intents  of  the  heart.  There  are  secondary  sources  of 
cultivation,  which  we  .shall  soon  describe,  but  it  is  these 
primitive  culture-elements  that  make  them  possible. 
Nicely  to  define  the  relations  of  the  three  groups  of 
primary  factors,  or  to  measure  their  comparative  value,  is 
l)eside  our  present  purpose.  Three  or  four  remarks  will 
suffice. 

The  three  groups  appear  in  life  in  the  order  in  which 
they  have  been  presented.  Still,  they  are  all  found 
in  the  child-mind  from  an  early  age,  and  from  the  time 
of  their  full  appearance  they  run  side  by  side  through 


HUMAN    CULTIVATION. 


25 


his  mental  life.  Their  interaction  is  constant  and  powerful. 
They  can  be  no  more  separated  than  cognition,  feeling, 
and  will  can  be  separated  in  the  stream  of  consciousness. 
They  are  not  of  uniform  prominence  in  all  persons,  or  in 
the  same  person  in  all  periods  of  life.  Some  persons  liv^e 
in  nature,  some  among  men,  some  in  their  own  minds. 
Children  again  live  in  their  senses,  adults  in  reason,  the 
old  in  memory.  The  speculative  man  lives  in  thought, 
the  sensitive  man  in  his  feelings,  the  practical  man  in  his 
deeds.  The  three  groups  of  factors  have  each  their  pecu- 
liar educational  value;  they  cannot  be  made  to  take  one 
another's  place;  and  they  are  all  essential  to  a  well-ordered 
education. 

II.       THK   SECONDARY   GROUP. 

The  educational  factors  that  we  have  been  considering 
are  powerfully  reenforced  by  a  secondary  group.  As  men 
originally  acquired  knowledge  through  attrition  with  the 
primordial  sources  of  cultivation,  they  began  to  communi- 
cate back  and  forth,  and  so  became  teachers  one  of  an- 
other. In  this  way  there  grew  up  a  common  fund  of 
experience  or  culture  that  has  played  a  prodigious  part  in 
the  education  of  the  world.  Tradition  and  authority 
appeared  early,  and  henceforth  second-hand,  or  deriv- 
ative, knowledge  supplemented  first-hand,  or  primitive 
knowledge.  These  new  agents  may  be  divided  into  four 
sub-groups. 

1.  Oral  language. — This  stands  first  in  power,  if  not  in 
time.  Speech  is  the  most  direct,  the  most  complete,  and  the 
most  rapid  mode  of  conve3dng  thought  and  feeling.  The 
matter  conveyed  comes  from  one  of  two  sources.  One 
source  is  the  speaker's  own  personal  experience,  the  other 
the  common  fund  or  stock  of  experience  that  is  called  tra- 
dition.    In  the  narrow  sense  tradition   embraces  facts. 


26  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

rules  of  conduct,  sage  councils,  generalizations  of  experi- 
ence, old  wives'  wisdom,  and  prudential  maxims  that  have 
been  handed  down  b}^  word  of  mouth  through  successive 
generations.  Tradition  in  its  large  sense  will  come  before 
us  further  on;  here  it  should  be  remarked  that  the  total 
effect  of  oral  language  upon  men's  minds  and  lives,  they 
are  quite  incapable  of  estimating.  No  doubt  it  is  le.ss  than 
formerly,  owing  to  the  multiplication  of  artificial  substi- 
tutes for  the  memory,  but  in  the  first  stage  of  life  it  has 
suffered  no  diminution. 

2.  Arts  and  Inventions. — Here  we  inventory  the  visible 
works  through  which  man  accomplishes  his  purposes 
(excluding  only  symbols  proper  and  writing).  These 
works  range  from  the  simple  articles  and  utensils  of  com- 
mon life  to  the  steamship,  the  city,  and  the  Simplon  road. 
These  objects  are  things,  but  the}'  are  more,  since  they 
express  human  thought  and  purpose. 

3.  Symbols. — Here  we  catalogue  those  works  of  art  the 
direct  object  of  which  is  to  express  thought,  sentiment,  or 
feeling:  the  decorative  art  of  the  savage,  the  illustrations 
of  scientific  and  literary  books,  the  Sistine  Madonna,  and 
the  Parthenon  frieze.  Symbolism  and  the  practical  arts 
are  often  found  mixed.  The  idea  of  beauty  allies  itself 
with  usefulness. 

4.  Writing. — In  this  expression  we  include  picture 
writing,  hieroglj'phics,  and  alphabets.  It  is  a  form  of 
symbolism,  but  a  form  so  unique  in  character,  and  so  vast 
in  its  influence,  tliat  it  well  deserves  to  stand  in  a  category 
1)y  itself 

It  is  quite  impossible  to  exaggerate  the  influence  of 
writing  and  printing  on  the  communication  of  thought, 
and  ])articularly  on  education,  "It  is  the  greatest  inven- 
tion man  has  ever  made,"  says  Carlyle,  "this  of  mark- 
ing down  the  unseen   thought  that  is  in  him  by  written 


HUMAN    CULTIVATION. 


27 


characters.  It  is  a  kind  of  second  speech,  ahiiost  as 
miraculous  as  the  first. '  '*  And  again: '  'Universities  arose 
while  there  were  yet  no  books  procurable;  while  a  man, 
for  a  single  book,  had  to  give  an  estate  of  land.  That,  in 
those  circumstances,  when  a  man  had  some  knowledge  to 
communicate,  he  should  do  it  by  gathering  the  learners 
round  him,  face  to  face,  was  a  necessity  for  him.  If  you 
wanted  to  know  what  Abelard  knew,  j^ou  must  go  and 
listen  to  Abelard.  Thousands,  as  many  as  thirty  thou- 
sand, went  to  hear  Abelard  and  that  metaphysical  the- 
ology of  his Once  invent  printing,  j'ou  meta- 
morphosed all  universities,  or  superseded  them.  The 
teacher  needed  not  now  to  gather  men  personally  round 
him,  that  he  might  speak  to  them  what  he  knew:  print  it 
in  a  book,  and  all  learners  far  and  wide,  for  a  trifle,  had 
it  each  at  his  own  fireside,  much  more  effectually  to  learn 
it."^ 

Such  in  outline  are  the  secondary  sources  of  knowledge 
and  mental  discipline.  The  analysis  might  be  carried 
further,  but  this  one  is  comprehensive  and  will  answer 
our  purpose.  The  group  suggests  some  observations  of 
importance. 

1.  The  first  of  these  observations  is  that  these  last 
sources  of  cultivation  are  plainly  secondary  and  derivative. 
They  mean  nothing  and  serve  no  useful  purpose  save 
as  they  rest  upon  a  previous  cultivation.  Properly 
speaking  they  are  all  arts.  What  Professor  J.  S-  Blackie 
says  of  books  is  true  of  all  of  them.  "They  are  not 
creative  powers  in  any  sense;  they  are  merely  helps, 
instruments,  tools;  and  even  as  tools  they  are  only 
artificial  tools,  superadded  to  those  with  which  the  wi.se 

*  The  Hero  as  Divinity. 

^  The  Heio  as  Man  of  Letters. 


28  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

prevision  of  Nature  has  equipped  us,  like  telescopes  and 
microscopes,  whose  assistance  in  many  researches  reveals 
unimagined  wonders,  but  the  use  of  which  should  never 
tempt  us  to  undervalue  or  to  neglect  the  exercise  of  our 
own  e3^es.  "^  A  book  is  nothing  but  a  thing  to  a  child 
until  he  has  accumulated  a  fund  of  first-hand  mental 
experience  that  will  furnish  the  apperceiving  centers  nec- 
essary to  enable  him  to  understand  it,  as  well  as  mastered 
the  symbolism  of  the  printed  page.  The  "parchment 
roll"'  is  not 

the  holy  river, 
From  which  one  draught  shall  slake  the  thirst  forever. 
The  quickening  power  of  science  only  he 
Can  know,  from  whose  own  soul  it  gushes  free. 

2.  It  has  been  suggested  that  a  book  is  a  thing  before 
it  is  a  book.  This  suggestion  leads  to  the  wider  observa- 
tion that  arts  of  all  kinds  are  at  once  tools  for  the  doing 
of  some  work,  and  things  or  objects  of  study  in  them- 
selves. As  tools,  they  are  secondary  sources  of  knowledge 
and  discipline;  as  things,  they  fall  among  the  primordial 
factors.  In  this  .sense  every  art  is  also  a  fact  of  science. 
And  the  more  important  the  art  is,  the  more  interesting 
as  an  object  of  knowledge.  All  the  arts  of  communica- 
tion are  subjects  to  be  studied.  It  may  be  said  in  general 
that  the  higher  the  purpose  the  art  subserves,  and  the 
greater  the  amount  of  thought  that  it  displays,  the  more 
interesting  and  valuable  it  is  as  a  subject  of  study.  And 
this  is  the  reason  why  the  things  of  the  spirit,  using  that 
term  in  this  wide  sense,  rank  so  high  as  educational  in- 
struments. This  is  the  core  of  Humanism.  Still  more, 
it  is  only  as  an  art  or  instrument  is  understood  that  it 
becomes  significant  and  in   the   highest  degree  useful. 

^SelfCiiltiite,  p.  1. 


HUMAN    CULTIVATION.  29 

Thus,  the  primary  and  the  secondary  elements  of  teaching 
mingle.  Even  the  most  mechanical  of  the  mental  opera- 
tions are  not  wholly  mechanical. 

Still  more  stress  should  be  laid  upon  the  educational 
value  of  spiritual  realities.  We  observe  objects  and  form 
ideas  of  them.  These  ideas  are  merely  pictures  or  images 
of  things,  in  the  first  instance.  But  this  is  not  all;  they 
become  themselves  objects  of  study,  furnishing  the  richest 
thought-material. 

3.  Once  more,  thought  is  before  expression,  and  is  its 
cause.  But  the  connection  between  the  two  is  the  closest 
that  we  can  conceive.  Shunning  the  intricacies  of  this 
old  problem,  we  should  not  fail  to  remark  that,  practically, 
the  mind  and  language  are  inseparable.  They  strengthen 
or  weaken  one  another.  Neither  one  can  be  studied  in  a 
fruitful  way  without  the  other.  If  we  begin  with  thought, 
we  find  ourselves  attending  to  its  vesture;  if  we  begin  with 
language,  we  cannot  dismiss  its  content.  "Speech,"  says 
Sir  William  Hamilton,  "is  the  godmother  of  knowledge." 
"A  sign  is  necessary  to  give  stability  to  our  intellectual 
progress — to  establish  each  step  in  our  advance  as  a  new 
starting  point  for  our  advance  to  another  be^^ond.  A 
country  may  be  overrun  by  an  armed  host,  but  it  is  only 
conquered  by  the  establishment  of  fortresses.     Words  are 

the  fortresses  of  thought Language  is  to 

the  mind  precisely  what  the  arch  is  to  the  tunnel.  The 
power  of  thinking  and  the  power  of  excavation  are  not 
dependent  on  the  word  in  the  one  case,  on  the  mason- work 
in  the  other;  but  without  these  subsidiaries,  neither  pro- 
cess could  be  carried  on  beyond  its  rudimentary  commence- 
ment."^ Still  another  great  scholar  has  said:  "The  hu- 
man mind  has  never  grappled  with  any  subject  of  thought 
without  a  proper  store  of  language,  and  without  an  ap- 
^Logic,  L,ecture  VIII. 


30 


STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 


paratus  appropriate  to  logical  method."'  The  close.iess 
of  the  relation  that  we  are  remarking  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  the  same  word  often  means  content  and  expres- 
sion, as  logos, '  'speech, ' '  and '  'word' '  itself.  The  New  Testa- 
ment places  great  stress  upon  the  Word,  but  the  word  is 
the  doctrine.  These  reflections  show  very  clearly  that 
the  priniar}-  and  secondary  facts  of  mental  growth  are  so 
bound  up  together  that  they  cannot  in  reality  be  separ- 
ated. 

4.  The  order  in  which  the  secondary  factors  appear 
in  history,  is  also  the  order  in  which  they  appear  in 
the  life  of  the  child  surrounded  by  civilized  society. 
We  must,  however,  be  on  our  guard  against  two  mistakes. 
We  may  exaggerate  the  length  of  the  intervals  between 
the  several  factors  of  the  secondary  group,  and  also  their 
time  relations  to  the  primitive  group.  We  must  not  divide 
life  into  sharply-cut  periods.  Something  depends  upon 
aptitude,  and  something  upon  circumstances.  Perhaps  it 
is  misleading  to  .speak  of  intervals  at  all.  All  that  is 
meant  is  that,  in  a  general  way,  the  analysis  presented 
describes  the  historical  order  and  the  individual  order  in 
which  the  sources  of  human  cultivation  declare  themselves. 
The  important  facts  are  these:  In  the  normal  child,  all 
these  agencies  appear  early,  and  they  continue  to  act  upon 
him  side  by  side  as  long  as  he  lives.  They  strengthen 
one  another;  they  interact  in  a  manner  that  defies  analysis 
Often  it  is  difficult  or  impossible  for  one  to  tell  in  his  own 
case,  and  still  more  in  the  ca.se  of  another,  from  what 
source  certain  knowledge  was  derived.  Persons  differ, 
owing  to  personal  character  and  environment.  The  human 
voice  is  sound  before  it  is  .speech.  A  \-olunie  is  first  a 
thing,  then  a  book.  Art  does  wonders  in  sub.stituting  one 
.sense  for  another,  as  in  the  case  of  Laura  Bridgeman, 

'Sir  H.  S.  Maine:  Ancient  Lazv. 


HUMAN    CULTIVATION.  3I 

who  could  follow  music  by  the  sensations  it  produced  in 
the  bottom  of  her  feet.  Similarly,  one  man  learns  by 
conversation,  by  reading  a  book,  or  by  looking  at  a  picture 
what  another  gets  by  the  direct  use  of  his  senses.  Still, 
there  is  a  limit  to  this  substitution  in  both  cases.  Every 
sense  and  every  educational  agent  has  its  own  appropriate 
function  that  no  other  sense  or  agent  can  fully  discharge. 
A  man  blind  from  birth  may  learn  the  whole  color  vocab- 
ular}^  but  he  can  have  no  conception  of  its  meaning. 
The  appropriate  sense  must  always  furnish  a  starting-point 
from  which  the  mind  may  work  through  the  other  senses 
in  the  direction  of  substitution.  Similarly,  language, 
writing,  and  pictures  can  never  take  the  place  of  a  suitable 
grounding  in  the  primal  realities  of  sense  and  of  the 
spirit.  This  fact  must  not  be  obscured.  No  human 
being's  cultivation  ever  began  with  words  of  wisdom. 
The  library  is  a  sealed  book  save  to  him  who  alread}- 
possesses  the  keys  of  knowledge.  The  command  to  keep 
out  of  the  fire  is  significant  only  to  those  persons  who 
have  already  learned  bj^  experience  what  the  fire  is.  In 
this  primal  sense,  therefore,  the  education  of  all  men 
starts  at  the  same  place  and  proceeds  by  the  same  steps. 
5,  The  field  where  primary  and  secondary  knowledge 
overlap  is  a  wide  one;  within  that  field  each  kind  has  its 
own  points  of  advantage  and  disadvantage.  In  general, 
first-hand  knowledge  is  the  more  real  and  practical.  Seeing 
is  believing.  All  our  terms  of  cognition,  or  nearly  so,  go 
back  to  the  senses.  Another's  report  of  a  fact  or  event  ma)- 
be  as  valuable  practically  as  my  own  personal  examination, 
or  even  more  so,  as  in  the  case  of  expert  knowledge,  but 
speculatively  the  report  never  affects  me  in  the  same  way. 
No  man's  description  of  Niagara  or  Mont  Blanc  equals  the 
use  of  my  own  eyes.  Second-hand  knowledge,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  commonly  acquired  far  more  rapidly  and  easily. 


32  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

If  knowledge  of  the  glaciers  of  Alaska,  or  of  Yellow- 
stone Park,  obtained  from  a  book  is  less  real  and  vivid  than 
knowledge  obtained  by  a  personal  visitation,  it  costs  far 
less  in  time,  money,  and  eflfort.  It  is  impossible  to  imagine 
how  the  kingdom  of  knowledge  would  shrink  up  if  men 
were  thrown  wholly  back  upon  their  own  unaided  facul- 
ties. As  it  is,  the  accumulations  of  the  race  are  open  to 
every  man,  limited  only  by  his  own  power  to  receive  and 
assimilate.  We  are  sometimes  enjoined  never  to  tell  a 
child  anything  that  he  can  find  out  for  himself.  Taken 
as  a  rhetorical  mode  of  emphasizing  discovery  or  first- 
hand knowledge,  the  precept  is  well  enough,  but  as  a 
rule  to  be  strictly  followed  it  is  both  absurd  and  impos- 
sible. To  leave  the  child  to  his  own  unaided  efforts  is 
telling  the  farmer  of  the  Western  prairies  to  throw  aside 
his  improved  machinery  and  cultivate  and  har^'est  his 
crops  with  the  rude  implements  used  in  Judea  in  the  days 
of  Boaz.  Moreover,  no  man  was  ever  reared  in  this  way, 
or  ever  will  be.  Fortunately,  the  utter  impracticability  of 
the  maxim,  taken  in  its  literal  sense,  leaves  little  proba- 
bility that  it  will  be  abused.  The  sound  rule  is.  Do  not 
tell  the  child  too  many  things.  I  wish  to  know  the  dis- 
tance from  Ann  Arbor  to  Ypsilanti;  why  should  I  measure 
it  myself  so  long  as  I  can  learn  the  distance  from  another  ? 
I  do  not  need  to  measure  the  road  to  Ypsilanti,  but  I  do 
need  to  measure  enough  distances  to  enable  me  to  under- 
stand the  process  and  to  understand,  measurably  at  least, 
the  distance-units  that  are  employed  in  making  them. 
What  I  need  in  general  is  a  sufficient  stock  of  first- 
hand knowledge  suitable  to  equip  me  with  apperceiving 
centers,  then    I   am   ready  for  second-hand  knowledge.' 

•  "Learning  teacheth  more  in  one  yeare  than  experience  in 
twL-iitic:  And  learning  teacheth  fafelie,  ^vheu  experience  tnaketli 
mo  miferable  than  wife.     lie  hafardeth  fore,  that  waxeth  wife  by 


HUMAN    CULTIVATION.  33 

What  has  been  said  answers,  in  general,  the  question 
whether  the  study  of  elementary  science  should  begin 
with  a  book  or  in  a  laboratory.  The  child  must  observe 
and  experiment;  but  it  is  not  wise  to  set  him  adrift  in 
nature  or  in  the  laboratory.  Much  the  same  may  be  said 
of  the  teaching  of  law,  whether  it  shall  begin  with  cases 
or  principles,  be  inductive  or  deductive- 

6.  The  real  point  that  is  involved  in  the  last  paragraph 
may  be  stated  more  broadly.  In  the  intellectual  sphere, 
authority  is  the  acceptance  of  facts,  ideas,  and  judg- 
ments at  second  hand,  on  the  ground  of  another  person's 
real  or  supposed  knowledge.  The  learner  does  not  him- 
self know  the  fact  or  idea  in  the  primitive  sense  of  that 
term.  Authority,  therefore,  is  opposed  to  personal  knowl- 
edge or  reason.  There  are  two  kinds,  the  first  relating 
to  facts  and  the  second  to  judgments  or  opinions.  The 
authority  that  rested  so  long,  and  so  heavily,  upon  the 
mind  of  Europe,  and  that  w^as  shattered  by  the  rise  of  free 
inquiry,    while    embracing   both    elements,     placed   the 

experience.  An  vnhappie  Mafter  he  is,  that  is  made  cunning  by 
maiiie  thippe  wrakes:  A  miferable  merchant,  that  is  neither  riche 
or  wife,  but  after  fom  bankroutes.  It  is  coftlie  wifdom,  that  is 
bought  by  experience.  We  know  by  experience  it  felfe,  that  it  is 
a  meruelous  paiue,  to  finde  oute  but  a  fhort  waie,  by  long  wander- 
ing. And  furelie,  he  that  wold  proue  wife  by  experience,  he  maie 
be  wittie  in  deede,  euen  like  a  fwift  runner,  that  runneth  fast  out  of 
his  waie,  and  upon  the  night,  he  knoweth  not  whither.  And 
verilie  they  be  feweft  of  number,  that  be  happie  or  wife  by  vu- 
learued  experience.  And  looke  well  vpon  the  former  life  of  thofe 
fewe,  whether  your  example  be  old  or  yonge,  %vho  without  learn- 
ing haue  gathered,  by  long  experience,  a  little  \\-ifdom,  and  fom 
happiness:  and  whan  you  do  confider,  what  mifcheife  they  haue 
committed,  what  dangers  the)'  haue  efcaped  (and  3-et  xx.  for  one, 
do  perifhe  in  the  adiienture)  then  think  well  with  your  felfe, 
whether  ye  wold,  that  your  owne  fon,  fhould  cum  to  wifdom  and 
happiness,  by  the  waie  of  foch  experience  or  no." — Roger  Ascham: 
The  Scholemaster. 


34  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

emphasis  upon  opinion.  It  has  often  been  contended  that 
authority  does  not  confer  knowledge.  L,ocke,  for  ex- 
ample, declared  it  to  be  "madness"  to  persuade  ourselves 
that  we  see  by  another  man's  eyes,  while  Carlyle  said: 
"Except  thine  own  e3'e  have  got  to  see  it,  except 
thine  owrr  soul  have  victoriously  struggled  to  clear  vision 
and  belief  of  it,  what  is  the  thing  seen  or  the  thing  be- 
lieved by  another  or  by  never  so  many  others  ?  "  *  We 
shall  look  more  carefully  into  the  matter  in  a  moment ; 
here  the  fact  concerns  us  that  both  kinds  of  authority  play 
necessar)''  parts  in  human  life.  Opinion  finds  its  sphere 
in  practical  affairs.  Children  must  be  guided  by  their 
seniors,  and  the  uninstructed  in  general  must  depend  for 
guidance  upon  those  who  are  instructed.  But  opinion  is 
commonly  said  to  have  been  banished  from  science  and 
philosophy,  and  largely  so  from  religion.  Into  this  branch 
of  the  inquiry  we  need  not  go;  it  suffices  to  state  the 
proper  sphere  of  opinion.  The  authority  that  is  con- 
cerned with  facts  we  call  testimony,  and  its  range  is  far 
wider  than  the  range  of  opinion.  We  constantly  accept 
facts  at  the  hands  of  witnesses,  taking  pains  onl}"  to  satisfy 
ourselves  as  to  their  competency.  This  is  essential  to  the 
progress  of  knowledge,  and  in  fact  to  its  existence  in  any 
comprehensive  sense  of  the  term.  A  material  cause  of 
the  great  progress  in  knowledge  made  in  recent  years  is 
the  wide  range  that  has  been  assigned  to  testimony,  ac- 
companied by  careful  scrutiny  into  the  character  of  wit- 
nesses. It  is,  therefore,  only  in  a  relative  sense  that 
authority  has  been  discarded,  or  that  it  can  ever  be  dis- 
carded, in  the  field  of  .science. 

Let  us  look  a  little  mure  closely  into  the  relation  of 
authority  to  the  knowing  processes.     In  the  narrowest 
'  See  Quick:  Educational  Reformers,  p.  222,  223. 


HUMAN    CULTIVATION. 


35 


sense,  knowledge  of  things  and  events  is  purely  a  per  • 
sonal  matter.     The  fact  or  idea  that  another  person  places 
in  my  way,  as  a  parent  bird  puts  a  worm  in  the  mouth 
of  its  young,  or  a  boy  drops  a  marble  into  his  pocket,  I 
do  not  know.     I  know  it  onl}'  when,  through  the  facts 
and   ideas   that  I   have    acquired  for   myself,   I   assimi- 
late it  and  make  it  a  part  of  my  mental  store.     And  even 
then    it  lacks  something  of  the  reality  and  vividness  of 
primitive  knowledge.    Still  we  may  agree  with  Mr.  Quick 
in  saj-ing  that  Miss  Martineau  knew  the  comet  which  she 
did  not  see  was  in  the  sk}-.     Not  as  much  can  be  said  of 
thinking.     Using  familiar  speech,  A  convinces  B  of  the 
truth  of  a  proposition  or  of  the  value  of  a  doctrine.      In 
what  sense  does  he  do  so  ?     The  operation  is  in  no  way 
like  the  operation  of  piling  up  weights  in  one  scale-pan 
until  the  other  kicks  the  beam.     What  A  really  does  is 
to  place  before  B  facts  and  ideas  that  tend  to  excite  in  his 
mind  a  train  of  thought  that  will  bring  him  to  the  de- 
sired conclusion.     The  thought  is  B's,  not  A's.     In  the 
real  sense,  therefore,  every  man  who  becomes  convinced 
of  a  truth  convinces  himself.     All  that  A  can  do  for  B  is 
skillfully  to  select  and  to  bring  before  him  matter  that 
compels  him  to  do  the  thinking.     This  is  due  to  a  certain 
relation,   spontaneous   or   artificial,   that  exists   between 
A's  mind  and  B's  mind  and  the  matter.    The  ultimate 
explanation  of  the  process   is  found  in  what  we  famil- 
iarly call   the  constitution  of  the   human  mind.       Now 
this  element  of  thought    or   personal   insight   is   wholl}- 
wanting  when  opinion  or  judgment  is  taken  solely  upon 
authority.    The  operation  is  mechanical  on   both   sides. 
The   practical  result   may  be  the  same  when  a  person 
is  guided  by  authority  that  it  is  when  he  is  guided  by 
reason,    but    the    speculative    result  is    very    different. 
Two    men    vote  the    same    ticket    at  an   election,    one 


36  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION, 

ignorantly,  the  other  intelligenth';  the  one  vote  counts 
for  as  much  as  the  other;  but  there  is  no  comparing  the 
mental  relations  of  the  two  men  to  the  transaction,  nor 
to  life  as  a  whole,  provided  the  present  act  is  a  type  of 
their  conduct. 

But  authority  is  intimately  connected  with  tradition, 
and  I  have  promised  to  saj-  something  more  about  that 
subject. 

Facts  and  ideas  at  first  hand  are  handed  on  from  one 
man  to  another  ;  opinion  grows  ;  thought  accumulates; 
conjectures  and  explanations  multiply;  habits  and  usages 
spring  up  and  become  established;  doctrines  take  root; 
laws  and  institutions  are  evolved  ;  material  civilization 
expands;  an  educational  ideal  is  worked  out — this,  or 
something  like  it,  may  be  accepted  as  a  general  account 
of  tradition.  As  here  used,  tradition  is  coextensive  with 
civilization,  comprehending  every  human  achievement  that 
continues  from  generation  to  generation.  The  currently 
accepted  educational  ideal  is  the  type  to  which  societ}',  or 
men  as  a  whole,  consciously  and  unconsciously,  labor  to 
make  their  .successors  conform.  "The  educational  aim, 
we  shall  find,  is  always  practical*  in  the  large  sense  of  that 
word,"  says  Professor  Laurie,  "for,  even  in  its  highest 
aspects,  it  has  always  to  do  with  life  in  some  form 
or  other,  and  indeed  presumes  a  certain  philosophy  of 
life."  This  aim  or  ideal  is  one  of  the  most  potent  of 
realities,  ranking,  perhaps,  next  to  nature  itself  as  an 
educational  agent.  Through  its  causative  energy,  it 
tends  to  produce  the  national  character.  The  first  of  the 
three  stages  through  which  Professor  Laurie  finds  the 
educational  ideal  passing  in  its  historical  evolution,  is 
' '  the  unpremeditated  education  of  national  character  and 
institutions,  and  of  instinctive  ideas  of  personal  and  com- 


HUMAN    CULTIVATION. 


37 


munity  life  in  contact  with  specific  external  conditions, 
and  moulding  or  being  moulded  by  these/ 

Words  can  hardly  exaggerate  the  formative  power  of 
tradition,  taking  it  in  this  large  way,  upon  the  character 
and  conduct  of  men.  It  dictates  ways  of  living  and  habits 
of  thought.  It  prescribes  creeds  and  platforms.  It  be- 
comes a  practical  measure  of  truth  and  duty.  It  is  the 
cake  of  custom.  It  fixes  the  cycle  of  Cathay.  In  the 
large  sense  of  those  terms,  it  is  the  glass  of  fashion  and 
the  mould  of  form.  But  it  tends  to  mechanism  and 
uniformity.  It  runs  to  dryness  and  deadness.  Often  it 
becomes  oppressive  and  tj^rannous  in  the  extreme,  stifling 
originality  and  repressing  fresh  thought.  Naturally, 
therefore,  tradition  calls  out  from  the  prophets  of  new 
ideas  and  causes  their  most  vigorous  protests.  They  de- 
mand to  be  informed  why  we  also  should  not  ascend  to 
the  head-springs  of  thought,  feeling,  and  life.  As  Mr. 
Emerson  voices  this  demand: 

Our  age  is  retrospective.  It  builds  the  sepulchres  of  the  fathers. 
It  writes  biographies,  histories,  and  criticism.  The  foregoing 
generations  beheld  God  and  nature  face  to  face;  we,  through  their 
eyes.  Why  should  not  we  also  enjoy  an  original  relation  to  the 
universe  ?  Why  should  not  we  have  a  poetry  and  philosophy  of 
insight  and  not  of  tradition,  and  a  religion  by  revelation  to  us, 
and  not  the  history  of  theirs?  Embosomed  for  a  season  in  nature, 
whose  floods  of  life  stream  around  and  through  us,  and  invite  us 
by  the  powers  they  supply,  to  action  proportioned  to  nature, 
why  should  we  grope  among  the  dry  bones  of  the  past,  or  put  the 
living  generation  into  masquerade  out  of  its  faded  wardrobe? 
The  sun  shines  to-day  also.  There  is  more  wool  and  flax  in  the 
fields.  There  are  new  lands,  new  men,  new  thoughts.  Let  us 
demand  our  own  works  and  laws  and  worship.  2 

This   is  one  side  of  the  matter,  and  a  very  important 
side.     But  the  other  side  is  at  least  equally  important. 

^  Pre-Christian  Education. — Introduction. 
2  Nuture. — Introduction. 


38  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

Without  persistence,  men  could  ne^'er  get  forward.  To 
keep  strictly  within  our  own  field,  tradition  hands  to  us 
the  existing  educational  type,  and  the  materials  out  of 
which,  for  the  most  part,  the  type  of  the  future  will  be 
fabricated.  Some  tell  us  that  we  should  resort  to  civiliza- 
tion, and  some  to  the  nature  of  the  mind,  for  our  ideals; 
but  there  is  good  reason  to  think  that  the  two  directions 
are  very  much  the  same  thing  in  substance,  for  certainly 
we  may  suppose  that  the  civilizations  of  the  most  advanced 
nations  are  psychological.  However  that  may  be,  man  is 
in  the  midst  of  tradition,  as  he  is  of  nature;  and  he  might  as 
well  try  to  escape  the  influence  of  the  one  as  of  the  other. 
Still  more,  the  materials  of  education  must  be  largely 
drawn  from  the  same  source.  Here  we  find  realities,  as 
well  as  in  the  natural  world,  and  realities  that  are  quite 
as  important.  The  cry,  "Back  to  nature  !  ' '  "Back  to  ex- 
perience !  "  important  enough  in  its  place,  sometimes 
takes  on  the  color  of  the  ridiculous.  The  human  tradi- 
tion contains  elements  that  ha\-e  been  assorted,  tested, 
elaborated,  and  refined;  first-facts  and  thoughts  have 
become  second-facts  and  thoughts:  and  so  on  in  endless 
repetition.  Why  then  should  we  always  be  going  back 
to  the  beginning,  if  .such  a  thing  w-ere  possible?  The 
demand  that  one  shall  do  so — that  he  shall  repeat  in  all 
things  the  experience  of  the  race — is  like  .saying  to  a  man 
who  wants  a  dinner  that  he  must  not  sit  down  at  the  table 
that  is  already  spread,  or  even  go  to  the  shops  for  pre- 
pared materials  of  which  a  dinner  may  be  made,  but  that 
he  must  go  to  the  forest  for  meat  and  to  the  field  for 
bread. 

III.    .SCHOOL   .STUDIES. 

The  topics  that  we  have  been  considering  are  of  great 
speculati^•e  interest.     But  this   interest   is  not  the  main 


HUMAN    CULTIVATION.  39 

cause  of  their  being  discussed  in  this  place.  My  main 
object  is  practical,  not  scientific.  I  have  been  seeking  a 
point  of  view  from  which  we  may  profitably  consider  the 
selection  of  educational  materials  for  the  school.  This  is 
the  question  of  educational  values  in  its  most  practical 
sense,  and  it  calls  for  thorough  discussion  at  the  present 
time  in  the  light  of  fundamental  doctrines.  After  what 
has  been  said,  we  shall  not  be  long  in  coming  to  an 
answer. 

First,  the  logic  of  life,  to  a  great  extent,  settles  the 
question.  In  its  earl}-  stages  mental  growth  is  purely 
spontaneous;  what  the  child  shall  first  know  is  settled 
beforehand  as  conclusively  as  what  he  shall  first  eat.  The 
secondary  sources  of  cultivation  cannot  be  made  primary 
sources.  The  realities  of  spirit  cannot  be  put  before  the 
realities  of  sense.  Ratio  and  proportion  are  subject  to 
change,  but  the  main  facts  that  concern  us  are  fixed  and 
immovable.  And,  considering  the  tendency  of  men  to 
ride  hobbies,  to  chase  ignesfahd,  to  cultivate  fads,  this  is 
a  fortunate  circumstance.  Happily,  the  Creator  has 
placed  some  things  be3'ond  the  reach  of  experiment! 

Secondly,  when  the  child  comes  to  school  he  has  already 
acquired  two  precious  possessions.  One  is  a  certain  store 
of  facts,  ideas,  images,  and  thoughts,  and  a  certain 
emotional  and  moral  development.  This  mental  store  has 
originated  in  ways  that  have  already  been  explained,  and 
that  need  not  be  recapitulated.  The  magnitude  of  the 
store,  and  the  ratio  of  the  elements,  depend  in  part  upon 
the  child's  bent  of  mind,  but  mainly  upon  his  quickness 
of  apprehension,  his  environment,  and  the  tutelage  of  his 
associates.  Asa  rule,  we  may  assume  that  his  different 
kinds  of  knowledge  are  fairly  well  balanced.  The  child's 
second  possession  is  a  store  of  language  that  is  measurably 
adequate  to  express  his  present  facts  and  ideas,   and  to 


40  STUDIES  IN  p:ducation. 

receive  new  ones.  Here  again  we  may  assume  that  some- 
thing Hke  balance  exists.  Knowledge  may  be  in  excess 
of  expression,  expression  in  excess  of  knowledge;  primary 
and  secondary  knowledge  may  not  be  well  proportioned 
in  all  cases;  but,  generally  speaking,  we  may  suppose  that 
the  two  facts  measure  each  other.  The  teacher  mu.st 
take  the  child  where  .she  finds  him,  and  face  the  question: 
What  shall  the  course  of  instruction  be  ?  We  may  sum 
up  the  answer  in  the  following  terms: — 

1.  The  child's  mental  development  should  continue 
along  all  the  lines  on  which  he  has  been  moving  from  the 
da}'  of  his  birth.  While  the  .school  marks  a  new  step  for- 
ward in  the  child-life,  it  should  not  mark  a  violent 
change. 

2.  This  mental  development  .should  embrace  the  two 
main  factors  that  have  been  set  forth,  knowledge  and 
expression.  The  time  will  come  when  language,  as  a 
means  of  expression,  may  fall  behind  thought,  but  not 
yet.  Hence  to  enlarge  the  child's  store  of  knowledge, 
and  his  means  of  receiving  and  conveying  knowledge,  are 
the  two  main  duties  of  the  primary  teacher.  Most  fortu- 
nately, good  teaching  on  either  .side  will  help  on  the  other 
one.  The  motto  should  not  be,  '  'Words  through  things, ' ' 
or  "Things  through  words,"  but  "Words  through  things 
and  tilings  through  words."  But  the  things  taught 
should  embrace  the  realities  of  the  mind  as  well  as  the 
realities  of  nature.  At  this  point  it  is  easy  to  fall  into 
excesses.  If  the  former  fault  consisted  in  placing  undue 
emphasis  upon  words  and  literature,  the  fact  does  not  ex- 
tenuate the  fault  of  overlooking  the  worth  of  the  human- 
ities. 

3.  All  the  .sources  of  knowledge  should  be  drawn  upon 
in  due  measure,  primary  and  .secondary,  and  also  the  sub- 
groups into  which  each  of  these  is  divided.   It  is  important 


HUMAN    CULTIVATION. 


41 


to  remember  that  secondarj^  knowledge  ultimately  depends 
upon  primitive  knowledge,  and  that  it  tends  to  formalism 
unless  perpetuall}^  renewed.  The  primary  pupil  must  be 
kept  close  to  the  realities  of  nature,  and  the  advanced 
student  often  be  led  back  to  them. 

Unfortunately,  there  are  those  who  see  great  educa- 
tional worth  in  the  spores  of  plants,  the  roes  of  fishes, 
and  the  exiivicB  of  insects  who  can  find  little  worth  in 
Plato's  "Republic,"  Aristotle's  "Politics,"  Milton's, 
poems,  and  Shakspere's  plays. 

4.  As  a  rule  the  child  will  not  bring  with  him  to  school 
the  arts  of  the  school.  They  must,  therefore,  be  taught 
in  the  school.  These  are  such  as  reading  and  writing, 
arithmetical  computation,  and  drawing.  They  are  tools 
with  which  the  invention  of  man,  not  nature,  furnishes  us. 
They  are  instruments  for  the  acquirement  and  impartation 
of  knowledge.  Reading  and  writing,  in  an  eminent  sense, 
are  the  means  by  which  we  acquaint  ourselves  with  the 
best  that  has  been  known  and  said  in  the  world,  and  so 
with  the  record  of  the  human  spirit.  It  may  be  that 
relativel}-  the  old  school  devoted  too  much  time  to  teaching 
these  arts,  to  the  neglect  of  teaching  subject-matter. 
Certain  it  is  that  little  real  knowledge  can  be  taught 
through  reading  in  the  first  stage,  owing  to  the  technical 
difficulties  of  the  subject.  But  to  teach  the  largest  amount 
of  knowledge  in  the  shortest  time  is  not  the  proper  ideal. 
If  that  were  the  aim,  we  should  not  teach  the  language 
arts  at  all.  The  school  looks  to  the  future;  and  even  if 
the  child  could  acquire  real  knowledge  more  rapidly  during 
his  first  school  years  if  he  neglected  the  two  great  arts  of 
the  school  altogether,  he  finds  himself  richly  repaid  in  the 
end  for  his  temporary  abstinence  through  the  use  that  he 
makes  of  these  incomparable  instruments  of  education. 
The  New  school  will  make  a  mistake  not  less  serious  than 


42  STUDIES    I\    EDUCATION. 

the  one  that  it  charges  upon  the  Old  school,  if  it  relegates 
the  language  arts  to  a  secondary  place,  leaving  them,  as 
it  were,  to  be  picked  up  by  the  way. 

Viewing  its  histor}^  externall}^,  we  see  that  education 
has  undergone  numerous  changes  in  respect  to  ideals, 
subject-matter,  and  methods.  We  may  limit  ourselves  to 
the  second  of  these  three  topics.  The  Greeks  fed  the 
minds  of  their  children  on  their  own  incomparable  litera- 
ture. The  Romans,  when  they  had  grown  out  of  their 
pristine  narrowness,  .studied  the  Greek  letters.  The  Real- 
istic Humanists  of  the  Renai.s.sance  looked  for  thought- 
material  in  the  form  and  sub.stance  of  the  ancient  literatures. 
The  Verbal  Humanists  laid  the  .stress  on  the  .style  and 
form  of  the  .same  writings.  The  Natural  Realists  pleaded 
for  nature.  In  our  own  times,  some  educators  .stand  for 
science  and  some  for  the  record  of  the  spirit.  These  ques- 
tions, while  important,  do  not  in  my  view  touch  the  real 
root  of  the  matter.  We  must  not  blind  our.selves  to  the 
fact  that  there  has  been  good  education  since  the  day  that 
men  first  began  to  .study  and  to  teach.  Perhaps  good 
teaching  has  been  much  more  abundant  than  we  are  apt 
to  think.  Too  frequently  our  judgments  rest  on  external 
features.  One  teacher  may  in.struct  orally,  another  use 
text-books;  one  may  find  his  materials  in  nature,  another 
in  humanit}-;  one  may  u.se  science  as  his  in.strument,  an- 
other mathematics  or  philosophy;  but  if  they  are  all  good 
teachers,  they  will  impart  knowledge,  energize  mind,  and 
develop  character.  We  need  not  take  too  .seriously  the 
flux  of  theory  and  practice.  There  is  something  in  edu- 
cation that  transcends  theory — something  that  survives 
the  flux  of  method — something  that  is  permanent  and 
living.  This  something  is  the  constant  element  in  educa- 
tion.     It   is  the  pupil's  own  free,  intelligent,  personal 


HUMAN    CULTIVATION, 


43 


effort  to  learn.  If  this  be  present,  the  absence  of  much 
else  may  be  excused;  if  this  be  absent,  the  presence  of  all 
else  only  makes  the  failure  the  more  conspicuous.  What 
we  should  strive  for,  is  this  constant  element  in  the  culti- 
vation of  the  individual.  The  smooth  phrases  now  cur- 
rent, "normal  development,"  "natural  method,"  "nature 
studies,"  "new  education,"  and  the  like,  must  not  make 
us  dead  to  its  incalculable  importance.  Orpheus  built  his 
Thebes  by  playing  on  his  flute.  Teachers  will  never  build 
theirs  in  a  similar  manner. 

The  greatest  danger  that  threatens  education  to-day 
arises  from  the  narrow  and  imperfect  views  of  many  of 
those  who  are  engaged  in  educational  work.  How  difi&- 
cult  it  is  for  the  specialist  to  keep  his  mind  broad,  free,  and 
sympathetic,  experience  has  fully  shown.  Teachers  also 
are  likely  to  be  greatly  influenced  by  their  own  scholastic 
tastes  and  interests.  The  trouble  is  that  the  specialist  or 
the  teacher  is  apt  to  take  a  part  of  the  map  of  the  mind, 
or  of  knowledge,  for  the  whole  map.  This  state  of  things 
is  partly  unavoidable.  It  has  also  its  good  side,  for  it 
tends  to  the  generation  of  enthusiasm.  But  the  laying 
out  of  courses  of  stud}^  and  the  supervision  of  schools 
should  fall  into  other  hands.  Only  those  are  fit  for  this 
responsible  work  who  have  caught  a  vision  of  the  whole 
world  of  mind  and  of  knowledge,  and  who  have  some  just 
conception,  not  mereh'  of  parts,  but  also  of  the  relations 
of  the  parts  that  blend  in  the  one  grand  unity.  The 
Greeks  believed  in  balance  or  ratio.  Proportion  was  a 
great  word  with  them.  "Nothing  in  excess,"  were  the 
words  of  Solon.  It  is  a  lesson  that  many  educators  and 
teachers  much  need  to  learn. 


II. 

THE  DOGMA  OF  FORMAL  DISCIPLINE.' 

=j]ROFESSOR  REIN,  of  Jena,  remarks  in  his 
"  Outlines  of  Pedagogics  "  that  the  "fiction 
of  a  formal  education  must  be  given  iip^.  In 
general,"  he  says,  "  there  is  no  such  educa- 
tion  at  all;  there  exist  simply  as  many  kinds 
of  formal  education  as  there  are  essentially  different 
spheres  of  intellectual  employment. ' '  Dr.  Van  Eiew, 
Rein's  translator  and  editor,  explains  "formal  education," 
or  ' '  formal  culture, ' '  as  signifying  ' '  about  the  same  as 
the  vague  expression  '  discipline  of  the  mind. '  Its  ex- 
treme defendeis, "  he  continues,  "  claim  that  tHe^pui^uit 
of  classic  studies  renders  the  intellect  capable  in  any 
sphere  whatever;  i.e.,  it  develops  all  the  mental  facul- 
ties. It  is  true  that  the  study  of  a  language  renders  the 
pursuit  of  other  related  branches  easier;  but  it  cannot  be 
conceded  that  it  prepares  the  mind  directly  Tor^grasping 
other  totally  irrelevant  subjects." *  '  *' 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Committee  of  Ten,  in  its 
' '  Report  on  Secondary  School  Studies, ' '  assumes  the  cor- 
rectness of  the  doctrine.  The  passages  in  which  this 
assumption  is  made  are  so  well  known  that  it  will  suffice  to 
quote  a  single  one  of  them.  "  Every  youth  who  entered 
college"  [on  the  plan  suggested]  "  would  have  spent  four 
years  in  studying  a  few  subjects  thoroughly;  and,  on  the 

'  A  paper  read  to  the  National  Council  of  Education,  Asbury 
Park,  N.  J.,  July,  1894. 

'  Translated  by  C.  C.  and  Ida  J.  Van  I, lew,  p.  42. 

44 


THE    DOGMA    OF    FORMAL    DISCIPLINE.  45 

theory  that  all  the  subjects  are  to  be  considered  equivalent 
in  educational  rank  for  the  purposes  of  admission  to  college, 
it  would  make  no  difiference  which  subjects  he  had  chosen 
from  the  programme — he  would  have  had  four  years  of 
strong  and  effective  mental  training. ' '  ^  The  Chairman  of 
the  Committee,  it  may  be  observed,  had  previously  de- 
clared, speaking  of  the  development  of  obser^^ation,  that 
"it  does  not  matter  what  subject  the  child  studies,  so 
that  he  study  something  thoroughly  in  an  observational 
method.  If  the  method  be  right,  it  does  not  matter, 
among  the  numerous  subjects  well  fitted  to  develop  this 
important  faculty,  which  he  choose,  or  which  be  chosen 
for  him."^ 

The  views  expressed  by  the  Committee  of  Ten  have  not 
passed  without  protest.  One  member  of  the  Committee, 
President  Baker,  uttered  his  dissent  at  the  time.^  Dr. 
Schurman  has  since  spoken  of  the  Committee  as  falling 
victims  to  that  popular  psychology  which  defines  education 
merely  as  the  training  of  mental  faculties,  as  though  the 
materials  of  instruction  were  a  matter  of  indifference. 
Education,  he  insists,  is  not  merely  a  training  of  mental 
powers;  it  is  a  process  of  nutrition ;  mind  grows  bv  what  it 
teeds  on,  and  the  mental  organism,  like  the  physical  orgaii- 
ism,  must  have  suitable  and  appropriate  nourishment.  * 

Dr.  De  Garmo  has  remarked  that  the  sentence  quoted 
above  implies  that  the  formal  discipline  we  have  heretofore 
ascribed  to  classics  and  mathematics  may  really  be  obtained 
in  the  study  of  anything,  and  that  consequently  it  makes 
no  difference  what  we  study.  This,  he  says,  is  seeking 
to  correct  an  erroneous  theory  by  making  it  universal.  * 

*  Government  Printing  Office,  p.  53. 

*  The  Fortini,  December,  1892,  p.  418. 
3  See  his  Supplemental  Report. 

*  School  Review,  February,  1894,  p.  93. 

^  Educational  Review.     March  1894,  p.  278. 


46  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

The  words  that  have  been  quoted  from  the  several 
authorities  reveal  a  wide  divergence  of  view.  It  may  be 
true,  as  one  of  the  critics  of  the  Committee  of  Ten 
observes,  that  no  harm  will  follow  from  its  theor}^  so  long 
as  the  rich  programmes  that  it  offers  remain;  still,  the 
question  is  absolutely  fundamental  to  the  science  of  educa- 
tional values  and  cannot  be  waved  aside.  If  one  subject 
is  as  good  as  another  for  the  purposes  of  discipline,  then 
the  maxim  ' '  all  is  in  all ' '  must  be  taken  in  a  sense  that 
would  have  startled  even  Jacotot.  Certainly  such  a  theory, 
supported  by  the  weight  of  authority  that  is  behind  it, 
may  well  claim  the  attention  of  an>'  society  or  association 
of  men  whose  7'aison  d'etre  is  the  discussion  of  educa- 
tional problems. 

In  the  outset  I  may  state  the  theory  a  little  more 
definitely.  Dr.  De  Garmo  says  it  consists  in  "the  idea 
that  the  mind  can  store  up  mechanical  force  in  a  few  sub- 
jects, like  grammar  and  mathematics,  which  can  be  used 
with  efficiency  in  any  department  of  life."  That  is,  the 
process  that  formal  discipline  assumes  may  be  likened  to 
the  passage  of  energy  from  the  fires  of  the  sun,  first  to 
vegetation,  and  then  to  the  coal  beds  and  subterranean 
reservoirs  of  oil  and  gas,  whence  it  is  again  drawn  forth  to 
cook  a  breakfast,  to  warm  a  drawing-room,  to  light  a  city, 
or  to  propel  a  steamship  across  the  oceanJ  This  is  the 
theory  that  we  are  to  examine. 

First,  we  7nay  look  into  the  analogous  facts  in  the  physi- 
ological sphere. — The  result  of  physical  activity — call  it 
what  we  will — presents  to  our  view  two  phases,  one 
special  and  one  general.  The  force  engendered  by  any 
defined  exertion  of  physical  power  is  fully  available  for 
all  like  kinds  of  exercise,  but  only  partially  so  for  un- 
like  kinds.     Thus,  the   power   or   skill   engendered   by 


-"'     -^''* -C '*  vj:  A^  i_t  __  t^>  ^    ■^_   ,. 

THE    DOGMA   OF   FORMAL   DISCIPLINE.  47 

driving  nails  can  all  be  used  in  driving  nails,  but  only 
partially  in  shoving  a  plane.  In  the  intellectual  sphere, 
the  two  corresponding  facts  are  sometimes  called  train- 
ing and  discipline.  Furthermore,  the  generic  element 
may  be  still  further  analj'zed.  Activity  tends,  first,  to 
invigorate  the  whole  body — "  to  tone  it  up,"  as  we  say — 
and,  secondl}-,  to  overflow  into  new  channels  l3'ing  near 
to  the  one  in  which  it  was  created.  For  example,  driv- 
ing nails  will  energize  the  whole  body  to  a  degree,  but 
the  hand,  the  arm,  and  the  shoulder  to  a  much  greater 
degree;  and  so  it  will  prepare  for  shoving  a  plane  or 
turning  an  auger  far  more  than  for  kicking  a  ball  01 
vaulting  over  a  bar.  The  law  appears  to  be  this:  in  so  far 
as  the  second  exertion  involves  the  same  muscles  and  nerves 
as  the  first  one,  and,  particularly,  in  so  far  as  it  calls  for 
the  same  coordination  of  muscles  and  nerves,  the  power 
created  by  the  first  exertion  will  be  available.  In  other 
words,  the  result  is  determined  by  the  congruity  or  the 
incongruity'  of  the  two  efforts. 

Now,  the  contribution  that  any  defined  exertion  makes 
to  the  general  store  of  one's  bodily  energy  is  important. 
At  the  same  time,  the  facts  do  not  prove  that  a  reservoir 
of  power  can  be  accumulated  by  any  one  kind  of  effort 
that  can  be  used  indifferently  for  any  and  all  purposes. 
There  is  no  such  thing-  ^^  a  formal  physical  discipline. 
Energy  created  by  activit}"  flowing  in  one  channel  cannot 
be  turned  at  will  into  any  other  channel.  A  boxer  is  not 
perforce  a  fencer.  A  pugilist  in  training  does  not  train 
promiscuously,  but  according  to  certain  strict  methods 
that  experience  has  approved.  Mr.  Galton  has  undertaken 
to  show  that  the  genius  of  the  famous  wrestlers  of  the 
North  Country  is  hereditary;  but  he  has  not  undertaken 
to  show  that  these  wrestlers  are  also  famous  oarsmen/ 

^  Hereditary  Genius,  Chap,  xviii. 


48  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

Secondly,  we  may  touch  for  a  vioment  on  the  relations 
of  body  and  mmd. — That  such  a  relation  exists — that 
psychic  life  has  a  physical  basis;  that  the  saints  all  have 
bodies — is  admitted;  but  the  nicer  connections  of  body 
and  soul  have  never  been  reduced  to  formulae.  The 
prudent  Locke's  maxim,  Mens  sana  in  sano  corpore,  is 
universally  admired;  it  expresses,  no  doubt,  a  truth  more 
or  less  general,  and  is  a  beautiful  educational  ideal.  Still, 
we  cannot  deny  soundness  to  many  minds  that  have 
dwelt  in  unsound  bodies,  or  claim  mental  soundness  for  all 
men  having  sound  bodies.  Many  of  the  saints  have  lived 
in  poor  bodies,  while  many  persons  with  good  bodies  have 
been  far  from  being  saints.  Not  even  the  wildest  mate- 
rialist, although  he  should  hold  that  the  brain  secretes 
thought  as  the  liver  secretes  bile,  would  pretend  that 
physical  activity  and  strength  and  ps}-chic  activity  and 
strength  can  be  put  in  an  equation. 

Thirdly,  dismissing  these  analogous  facts,  we  come 
directly  to  the  mind  itself. — We  shall  examine  into  the 
mutual  convertibility  of  the  different  kinds  of  mental 
activity  or  power. 

There  is  a  constant  relation  between  the  three  phases 
of  mental  action.  Cognition,  feeling,  and  will  are  not 
names  of  different  states  of  consciousnesss,  but  names  of 
different  a.spects  of  the  same  consciousness.  They  can- 
not be  separated  except  in  thought.  The  three  elements 
mingle  in  the  full  stream  of  mental  activity  from  the  mo- 
ment that  the  stream  begins  to  flow.  The  annihilation 
of  one  is  the  annihilation  of  all. 

Within  certain  limits,  these  elements  seem  to  vary  to- 
gether; outside  of  those  limits,  they  tend  to  inverse  varia- 
tion. Mr.  Darwin  has  told  us  with  charming  frankness, 
and  in  words  bordering  on  pathos,  that  his  own  exclusive 


THE    DOGMA    OF    FORMAL    DISCIPLINE,  49 

absorption  in  scientific  study  had  destro.ved  the  feelings 
of  wonder,  admiration,  and  devotion  which  he  at  the  root 
of  rehgious  experience,  and  also  robbed  him  of  the  pleas- 
ures which  he  had  once  received  from  poetry  and  art.  I^ate 
in  life  he  wrote  that  the  most  sublime  scenes  had  become 
powerless  to  cause  the  conviction  and  feeling  to  arise  in 
his  mind  that  there  is  more  in  a  human  being  than  the 
mere  breath  of  his  body,  which  had  filled  and  elevated 
it  when,  a  young  man,  he  stood  in  the  grandeur  of  a  Bra- 
zilian forest.^  He  speaks  of  his  mind  as  having  become 
"  a  kind  of  machine  for  grinding  general  laws  out  of  large 
collections  of  facts,"  and  says  he  cannot  conceive  "why 
this  should  have  caused  the  atrophy  of  that  part  of  the 
brain  alone  on  which  the  higher  tastes  depend. ' '  ^  Shaks- 
pere  perfectly  understood,  what  modern  psychology  ex- 
plains, that  the  native  hue  of  resolution  becomes  "sicklied 
o'er  with  the  pale  cast  of  thought,"  and  that  enterprises  of 
great  pith  and  moment  are  thereby  turned  awrj^  and  lose 
the  name  of  action.  Hamlet  had  thought  too  much  to 
kill  the  king;  and  many  a  man  of  the  closet — many  a 
speculative  thinker — has  undergone  a  like  disintegration 
of  practical  character,  although  he  may  have  had  no  pur- 
pose to  commit  a  similar  deed.  It  is  therefore  perfectly 
obvious  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  formal  mental  dis- 
cipline, in  the  broadest  sense  of  the  language. 

Narrowing  the  field  again,  we  come  to  the  intellect.  Now 
our  question  is  the  mutual  convertibility  of  the  different 
forms  of  intellectual  activity,  and  we  must  proceed  more 
slowly. 

1.  These  forms  are  much  more  closely  connected  than 
the  old  psychologists  thought.     They  indeed  taught  that 

1  Life  and  Letters,  Vol.  I   p.  281. 

2  Ibid.,  Vol.  I,  p.  81. 


50  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

representative  knowledge  is  conditioned  upon  presenta- 
tive,  and  that  thought  is  conditioned  upon  both  presenta- 
tion and  representation;  but  they  did  not  teach  how  deepl\' 
the  processes  summed  up  in  the  word  "thought"  enter 
into  perception.  There  is  perhaps  no  form  of  cogniti\-e 
activity  that  is  pure  and  simple.  These  propositions  do 
not  need  to  be  argued.  At  the  same  time,  the  cognitive 
elements  do  not  var}'  together.  Perception,  memor}-,  and 
imagination  are  not  convertible  terms;  neither  is  any  one 
of  these  faculties,  in  a  concrete  case,  the  measure  of  any 
other.  We  find  the  strangest  combinations  of  intellect- 
ual power  in  real  life.  The  savage  is  as  weak  in  speculative 
reflection  as  he  is  strong  in  keenness  of  scent.  The  Realists 
have  deservedly  emphasized  the  value  of  sense-perception 
and  of  sense-teaching  in  education;  but  they  have  not 
emphasized  the  facts  that  the  particular  and  the  concrete 
mark  an  earh-  and  imperfect  stage  of  mental  advancement, 
that  there  is  no  greater  clog  upon  mental  progress  than 
the  habit  of  thinking  it,  and  that  a  man's  thinking  capa- 
city is  gauged  by  his  power  to  think  general  and  abstract 
thoughts.  Children  and  savages — all  immature  minds — 
live  in  their  senses;  cultivated  men  grow  out  of  them. 
That  is  a  significant  anecdote  which  Dr.  Fitch  relates  of 
the  teacher  who  was  testifying  before  Lord  Taunton's 
Conunission  as  to  the  extraordinary  interest  which  his 
pupils  took  in  physical  science.  Asked  what  department 
of  science  most  interested  his  scholars,  he  replied:  "The 
chemistry  of  the  explosive  .sub.stances. "  ' 

2.  "Habits  of  observation"  and  "men  of  observation" 
are  phrases  often  heard.  We  may  well  incjuire  how  far 
such  language  is  true. 

It  is  well  known  that  some  persons  keenl\-  notice  faces, 
.some  actions,  .some  attire,  .some  manners,  some  language; 

'  Lectures  on  Teaching,  Chapt.  XIV. 


THE    DOGMA    OF    FORMAL    DISCIPLINE.  5I 

also  that  some  persons  are  closely  observant  of  several 
classes  of  phenomena.  There  is,  however,  no  formal  power 
of  observation.  The  Indian's  boa.sted  faculty  is  limited  to 
his  native  environment;  introduced  into  Cheapside  or  the 
Strand,  he  sees  nothing  compared  with  Sam  Weller  or 
one  of  Fagin's  pupils.  Nor  can  any  exercises  bf  p^p- 
scribedthat  will  cultivate  nn  all-nronnrl  ob'^prv-ation.  The 
inductive  logicians  lay  down  rules  for  conducting  observa- 
tions and  experiments;  as,  That  the)'  must  be  precise, 
That  the  phenomena  must  be  isolated,  etc. ;  and  very  good 
rules  they  are.  But  they  do  not  constitiite  a  proper 
organon  of  observation.  The  words  of  Dr.  Sully  remain 
true,  that  there  are  no  rules  of  good  observation  which 
would  enable  one  to  teach  it  as  an  art.  More  will  depend ,_ 
he  says,  upon  daily  companionship  with  an  acute  observer 
than  upon  S3^stematic  training. '^  Still,  in  such  case  the 
senses  of  the  pupil  will  generally  take  the  direction  of  the 
senses  of  the  acute  observer. 

3.  Next  come  the  faculties  of  repre.^etitation.  Unusual 
powers  of  memory  are  so  far  from  implying  unusual  under- 
standing that,  according  to  a  prevalent  opinion,  the  t\^•o 
are  irreconcilable.  Some  writers  have  thought  it  neces- 
sary to  refute  that  view.  We  need  not  canvass  the  ques- 
tion here  further  than  to  remark  that  good  understanding 
is  more  frequently  accompanied  by  good  memory  than  good 
memory  by  good  understanding.  Still  further,  memor}' 
exercises  are  quite  as  limited  in  their  effects  as  observation 
exercises.  One  person  has  a  m.emory  for  names,  a  second 
for  places,  a  third  for  faces,  a  fourth  for  dates  and  statis- 
tics, a  fifth  for  ideas,  a  sixth  for  language,  etc.;  some 
combine  two  or  more  of  these  gifts;  but  there  is  no 
memory  that  takes  up  everything  indifferently. 

What  has  been  said  of  the   memory  is  equalh'  true  of 

1  Outlines  of  Psychology,  p.  214. 


52  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION, 

the  oth6r  great  representative  faculty.  There  is  the 
imagination  of  the  philosopher,  of  the  artist,  and  of  the 
man  of  affairs,  with  their  several  subdivisions. 

4.  Finally,  we  come  to  the  logical  facult}',  which  is 
supposed  to  be  the  very  seat  and  shrine  of  formal  disci- 
pline. Here  the  facts  are  not  different  from  those  already 
presented.  Ability  in  formal  logic  is  not  the  same  thing 
as  ability  in  real  logic,  as  the  Schoolmen  made  ver>' 
plain.  Deduction  is  not  induction.  Mastery  of  the 
method  of  difference,  sometimes  called  the  chemical 
method,  does  not  equip  one  for  investigating  the  affairs 
of  human  society.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  often  said, 
and  with  perfect  truth,  that  constant  use  of  the  more 
rigorous  methods  of  science  tends  to  unfit  men  for  deal- 
ing with  human  questions.  No  curious  observer  can  fail 
to  notice  how  practical  ability  to  judge  and  to  reason  tends 
to  run  in  special  channels.  The  tendency  is  most  striking 
in  specialization.  Eminence  in  microscopy,  in  sanitary 
science,  in  engineering,  in  philology,  in  pedagog}',  in  a 
thousand  specialized  pursuits,  is  no  guarantee  of  abilit}' 
in  other  matters,  or  even  of  good  sense  in  the  common 
affairs  of  life.  The  only  astrologist  whom  I  have  ever 
happened  to  know  personally  was  an  eminent  civil  engineer. 

Every  person  who  has  attempted  to  make  up  a  course 
of  popular  lectures  by  drawing  upon  the  professional 
talent  of  the  vicinage,  knows  how  hard  it  is  to  draw  the 
professional  man  out  of  his  Fach.  Often  the  lawyer's 
unwillingness  to  appear  in  such  a  capacity  is  due  to  his 
consciousness  of  his  own  limitations.  Again,  the  notion 
that  the  lawyer  is  especially  fitted  for  the  work  of  legisla- 
tion by  his  technical  knowledge  of  the  law,  is  a  common 
fallacy.  His  mind  is  trained  in  the  law  as  it  is;  and  he 
naturally  shrinks  from  changes  that  will  necessitate  new 
adjustments  of  his  ideas  and  modifications  of  his  practice. 


THE    DOGMA   OF    FORMAL    DISCIPLINE. 


53 


After  remarking  that  it  is  hard  for  the  modern  reader  to 
comprehend  how  men  who  reasoned  upon  their  data  with 
the  force  and  subtlety  of  the  Schoolmen  could  ever  have 
accepted  such  data,  Lord  Macaulay  proceeds  as  follows: 

It  is  the  same  with  some  eminent  lawyers.  Their  legal  argu- 
ments are  intellectual  prodigies,  abounding  with  the  happiest 
analogies  and  most  refined  distinctions.  The  principles  of  their 
arbitrary  science  being  once  admitted,  the  statute-book  and  the 
reports  being  once  assumed  as  the  foundations  of  reasoning,  these 
men  must  be  allowed  to  be  perfect  masters  of  logic.  But  if  a 
question  arises  as  to  the  postulates  on  which  their  whole  system 
rests,  if  they  are  called  upon  to  vindicate  the  fundamental  maxims 
of  that  system  which  they  have  passed  their  lives  in  studying, 
these  very  men  often  talk  the  language  of  savages  or  of  children. 
Those  who  have  listened  to  a  man  of  this  class  in  his  own  court, 
and  who  have  witnessed  the  skill  with  which  he  analyzes  and 
digests  a  vast  mass  of  evidence,  or  reconciles  a  crowd  of  prece 
dents  which  at  first  sight  seem  contradictory,  scarcely  know  him 
again  when,  a  few  hours  later,  they  hear  him  speaking  on  the 
other  side  of  Westminster  Hall  in  his  capacity  of  legislator.  They 
can  scarcely  believe  that  the  paltry  quirks  which  are  faintly  heard 
through  a  storm  of  coughing,  and  which  do  not  impose  on  the 
plainest  country  gentleman,  can  proceed  from  the  same  sharp  and 
vigorous  intellect  which  bad  excited  their  admiration  under  the 
same  roof  and  on  the  same  day.  ^ 

It  is  well  known  that  Lord  Erskine,  the  peerless  advo- 
cate at  the  bar,  proved  a  disappointment  in  the  House  of 
Commons. 

Thus,  we  see  that,  no  matter  what  mental  activ- 
ities we  consider,  they  conform  to  the  causes  that  excite 
them.  Like  the  dyer's  hand,  the  mental  faculties  are 
subdued  to  what  they  work  in.  There  is  no  such  thing 
as  activity  in  vacuo.     An  incisive  writer  has  said: 

The  circumstantial  evidence  with  which  lawyers,  qua  lawyers, 
are  familiar  under  our  system  of  jurisprudence,  is  an  artificial 
thing  created  by  legislation  or  custom,  with  the  object  of  prevent- 

1  BoswelVs  Life  of  Johnson. 


54  STUDIES    I\    EDUCATION. 

ing  the  minds  of  the  jury — presumably  a  body  of  untrained  and 
unlearned  men — from  being  confused  or  led  astray.  Moreover, 
they  are  oulj'  familiar  with  its  use  in  one  very  narrow  field — 
human  conduct  under  one  set  of  social  conditions.  For  example, 
a  lawyer  might  be  a  very  good  judge  of  circumstantial  evidence 
in  America,  and  a  very  poor  one  in  India  or  China;  might  have  a 
keen  eye  for  the  probable  or  improbable  in  a  New  England  vil- 
lage, and  none  at  all  in  a  Prussian  barrack.  .  .  .  A  wild 
Indian  will,  owing  to  prolonged  observation  and  great  acuteness 
of  the  senses,  tell  by  a  simple  inspection  of  grass  or  leaf-covered 
ground,  on  which  a  scholar  will  perceive  nothing  unusual  what- 
ever, that  a  man  has  recently  passed  over  it.  He  will  tell  whether 
he  was  walking  or  running,  whether  he  carried  a  burden,  whether 
he  was  young  or  old,  and  how  long  ago  and  at  what  hour  of  the 
day  he  went  by.  He  reaches  all  his  conclusions  by  circumstantial 
evidence  of  precisely  the  same  character  as  that  used  by  the  geol- 
ogist, though  he  knows  nothing  about  formal  logic  or  the  process 

of  induction.     Now,  what  Dr. would  have  us  believe  is, 

that  he  can  come  out  of  his  study  and  pass  judgment  on  the 
Indian's  reasoning  without  being  able  to  see  one  of  the  "known 
facts"  on  Avhich  the  reasoning  rests,  or  appreciate  in  the  slightest 
degree  which  of  them  is  material  to  the  conclusion  and  which  is 
not,  or  even  to  conjecture  whether  taken  together  they  exclude 
the  hypothesis  that  it  was  not  a  man  but  a  cow  or  a  dog  which 
passed  over  the  ground,  and  not  to-day  but  yesterday  that  the 
marks  were  made,  i 

Perhaps  it  will  be  objected  to  the  line  of  argument  fol- 
lowed that  it  assumes  the  truth  of  an  obsolete  psychology. 
The  change  of  front  of  psychologists  at  this  point,  HofF- 
ding  thus  suggests: 

As  classification,  in  the  provinces  of  zoology  and  botany,  led  to 
the  notion  of  eternal  and  unchangeable  species — so  that  it  now 
costs  a  hard  struggle  to  furnish  proof  that  these  species  are  the 
fruits  of  a  natural  course  of  evolution — so  psychological  research 
for  a  long  time  thought  its  end  had  been  attained  when  it  reduced 
the  various  inner  phenomena  to  various  "faculties'"  of  the  mind — a 
procedure  which  conflicted  strangely  with  the  strictly  spiritualistic 
conception  of  the  unity  of  the  mind.     At  the  same  time,  these 

•  The  Nation,  November  Ki,  ISTO,  pp.  2%-297. 


THE    DOGMA    OF    FORMAL    DISCIPLINE. 


55 


'•faculties"  were  regarded  as  causes  of  the  phenomena  concerned, 
and  thus  the  need  of  a  causal  explanation  was  satisfied  in  a  very 
convenient,  though  quite  illusory,  manner.  In  particular  it  was 
overlooked  that  in  classification  attention  is  given  only  to  a  prom- 
inent characteristic;  that  it  is  not  therefore  actual  concrete  .yAr^^t'^ 
themselves  which  are  classified,  but  the  elements  out  of  which  a 
closer  examination  shows  them  to  be  formed.  There  is  scarcely  a 
single  conscious  state — as  will  be  shown  later  in  detail — which  is 
only  idea,  only  feeling,  or  only  will. " 

I  am  not  about  to  attempt  the  rehabilitation  of  the 
much  derided  '  'facult}'"  psychology.  It  cannot  be  denied, 
however,  that,  with  all  its  defects,  this  psychology  did 
furnish  a  convenient  mode  of  describing  mental  phenom- 
ena. But,  no  matter  what  ps^xhology  we  adopt,  the 
phenomena  of  the  individual  mind  cannot  be  explained, 
so  far  as  appears,  on  the  theory'  of  the  correlation  of 
forces. 

Next  in  order  come  some  remarks  and  applications  of 
the  principles  stated. 

1.  What  has  been  said  of  physical  activities  may  be 
repeated  of  p^vrhip  artivHtip.'^.  They  present  to  our 
minds  a  specific  and  a  generic  phase.  Any  defined  intel- 
lectual exertion,  besides  generating  power  that  is  subject 
to  draft  for  like  efforts,  also  tends  to  energize  the  intellect 
aiid^  to  a  degree,  thp  whole  mind.  This  overflow  of 
power — this  mobilization  of  the  mind,  if  we  may  so  call  it 
— is  an  important  factor  in  psychic  life.  It  furnishes  tlie_ 
dogma  of  formal  discipline  its  only  support.  How  strong 
this  support  is,  we  cannot  say  in  quantitative  terms;  but 
certainl}'  it  is  far  from  sufficient  to  uphold  the  dogma  as 
commonly  understood. 

2.  The  last  remark  suggests  the  harmonizable  quality 

*  Outlines  of  Psychology.  Translated  by  Mary  E.  Lowndes. 
p.  19. 


56  STUniES    IN    EDUCATION. 

— the  congruity  or  incongruity — of  mental  activities.  This 
subject  belongs  to  the  psychologist;  but  a  related  one, 
which  has  even  more  practical  importance,  belongs  to  the 
pedagogist.  Reference  is  now  made  to  congruity  as  a 
principle  to  be  emploj'ed  in  the  classification  of  studies. 
The  first  question  is:  What  studies  are  congruous  and 
what  incongruous  ?  And  the  second  one:  How  far  should 
the  principle  of  congruity  be  followed  in  the  choice  of 
studies  and  in  their  arrangement?  The  two  subjects  of 
congruous  mental  activity  and  of  congruous  studies  call 
for  a  fuller  investigation  than  they  have  ever  received. 

3.  Even  this  cursory  survey  would  be  inadequate  with- 
out mention  being  made  of  two  topics  that  receive  large 
attention  at  the  hands  of  teachers  and  educational  writers. 
Certain  arts  were  long  ago  called  liberal  i^artes  liberales) 
because  they  were  supposed  to  liberalize  the  mind;  that 
is,  set  it  free  from  its  ignorance,  narrowness,  and  preju- 
dice. This  claim  was  well  founded.  In  time,  however, 
a  liberal  education  came  to  be  understood  as  a  general 
education,  in  contradistinction  to  one  that  is  special.  The 
phrase  now  conveyed  the  idea  of  extent  rather  thnn  gnn.l- 
ity  of  study,  and  such  appears  to  be  its  present  accepta- 
tTorr  But  Tt  is  almost  needless  to  remark  that  liberal 
study,  and  particularly  as  pursued  in  colleges  and  univer- 
sities, is  possible  only  in  a  relative  sense.  There  must  be 
a  definite  limitation  of  the  field  if  we  are  to  secure  thor- 
oughness and  efficiency.  Men  cannot  now  take  all 
knowledge  for  their  province.  But  this  is  not  all.  Good 
specialization  must  also  attain  a  certain  breadth.  A  Greek 
scholar  must  study  Latin;  an  English  scholar,  German;  a 
physicist,  mathematics;  a  pedagogist,  psychology,  logic, 
and  ethics.  Over-specialization,  like  too  wide  general 
study,  defeats  itself.  The  adjusting  of  the  two  factors, 
extension  and  intention,  is  a  problem  as  difficult  as  it  is 


THE    DOGMA   OF    FORMAL    DISCIPLINE. 


57 


important.  At  one  stage  they  vary  directly;  at  another 
stage,  inversely.  Liberal  culture  is  but  a  broader  special- 
ization; specialization,  but  a  narrower  liberal  culture. 

4.  The  only  practical  reason  for  discussing  formal  dis- 
cipline in  this  place  is  that  it  involves  studies  and  courses 
of  study.  The  first  question  relative  to  the  educational 
value  of  any  subject  is:  What  kind  of  mental  activity 
does  it  stimulate  ?  This  question  reaches  much  further 
than  is  commonly  supposed.  If  the  subject  is  said  to 
develop  the  faculties  of  observation,  then  we  must  ask: 
Observation  in  what  direction  ?  In  the  direction  of  nature, 
or  of  man?  And,  if  the  answer  is  nature,  then  the  ques- 
tion is:  What  department  of  nature  ?  The  same  analysis 
must  be  made  in  respect  to  memory,  imagination,  com- 
parison, judgment,  and  thought.  But  this  is  not  all. 
Because  a  subject  develops  the  kind  of  activity  that  is 
desired,  we  are  not  therefore  at  once  to  assign  it  a  place 
in  the  curriculum.  The  quantitative  question  is  hardly  less 
important,  viz.:  How  much  activity  does  the  subject 
stimulate?  Even  the  most  worthless  subjects  have  some 
educational  value;  and  we  cannot  assign  any  subject  its 
place  until  we  have  compared  it  with  others  in  respect  to 
the  measure  of  the  effect  that  it  produces. 

5.  Applying  these  criteria  to  leading  studies,  we  have 
no  difficulty  in  seeing  that  their  ardent  cultivators  often 
claim  too  much  for  them.  The  partisans  of  scientific  edu- 
cation claim  that  the  sciences  stimulate  strongly  all  the 
intellectual  faculties.  We  must  admit  the  claim.  This, 
however,  does  not  cut  us  off  from  asking  what  channels 
the  observation  and  comparison,  analysis  and  thinking,  run 
in.  Mr.  Todhunter  repels  the  claim  that  the  natural 
sciences  ' '  are  eminently  and  specially  salutary  as  a  means 
of  developing  the  powers  of  observation."  He  argues 
that  ' '  the  study  of  an}-  subject  tends  to  make  men  observ- 


58  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

ant  of  the  special  matter  of  that  subject;  the  study  of 
botany  doubtless  trains  the  habit  of  observing  botanical 
phenomena;  the  stud}-  of  chemistry  doubtless  trains  the 
habit  of  observing  chemical  phenomena.  But  I  have  never 
noticed,"  he  says,  "that  the  devotion  to  any  specific  branch 
of  natural  history  or  natural  philosoph}^  has  anj^  potent 
influence  in  rendering  the  student  specially  alive 
to  phenomena  unconnected  with  the  specific  pursuit. 
I  could  give  some  striking  examples  to  the  con- 
trary."^ Unfortunately,  Mr.  Todhunter  did  not  gen- 
eralize the  principle  that  underlies  his  very  just  re- 
marks. It  is  the  principle  of  .specific  and  generic  prod- 
ucts of  mental  activity.  It  is  the  principle  to  which  Rein 
goes  counter  when  he  says  in  words  that  are  somewhat 
over-strong:  ' '  There  exi,st  simply  as  man}'  kinds  of  formal 
education  as  there  are  essentially  different  spheres  of  in- 
tellectual employment."  But,  still  more  unfortunately, 
Mr.  Todhunter  prefers  claims  for  mathematics  that  are 
quite  as  absurd  as  those  that  he  repels  in  the  ca.se  of 
natural  science.  In  their  own  field  the  mathematical 
sciences  are  invaluable,  both  as  disciplines  and  as  tools; 
but  no  field  is  more  closely  limited  or  more  definitely 
marked  off. 

All  in  all,  language  is  the  greatest  educational  agent 
that  we  possess.  First,  it  is  the  content  or  substance  of 
thought.  It  holds  much  of  the  accumulated  cultivation  of 
our  race.  Secondly,  we  master  it  as  a  tool  for  the  ex- 
pression of  our  own  thought,  and  this  is  inferior  to  no 
other  di.scipline  that  we  are  capable  of  receiving.  Thirdly, 
when  we  become  scholars  we  stud)'  language  as  the  form 
of  thought,  or  as  grammar;  and  here  we  deal  with  some 
of  the  broadest  and  most  abstract  relations  that  ever  re- 
ceive our  attention.     Language  appeals  to  us  also  under 

'  The  Conflict  of  Studies,  p.  23. 


THE    DOGMA    OF    FORMAL    DISCIPLINE. 


59 


its  historical  aspect,  under  its  comparative  aspect,  and, 
finally,  as  one  of  the  noblest,  if  not  indeed  the  noblest,  of 
all  the  arts.  But  great  as  is  its  educational  value,  you 
cannot  adequately  educate  a  child  merely  by  teaching  him 
language. 

This  is  an  outline  merely  of  the  subject  of  this  paper. 
I  shall  now  sum  up  the  principal  ideas  that  have  been 
advanced  in  the  course  of  the  argument. 

The  power  generated  by  any  kind  of  mental  activity  must 
be  studied  under  two  aspects,  one  special  and  one  general. 

The  degree  to  vv'hich  such  power  is  general  depends  upon 
the  extent  to  which  it  energizes  the  mind,  and  particu- 
larly the  extent  to  which  it  overflows  into  congruent 
channels. 

Such  power  is  far  more  special  than  general;  it  is  only 
in  a  limited  sense  that  we  can  be  said  to  have  a  store  of 
mobilized  mental  power.  In  a  sense,  men  have  percep- 
tions, memories,  and  imaginations  rather  than  perception, 
memory,  and  imagination. 

While  liberal  study  and  specialization  look  to  somewhat 
different  ends,  they  are,  in  fact,  only  parts,  and  necessary 
parts,  of  the  same  thing. 

No  one  kind  of  mental  exercise — no  few  kinds — can  de- 
velop the  whole  mind.  That  end  can  be  gained  onl\- 
through  many  and  varied  activities. 

No  study  -no  single  group  of  studies— contains  within 
itself  the  possibilities  of  a  whole  education.  That  balance 
of  development  which  we  should  call  a  liberal  education 
can  be  gained  only  through  a  measurably  expanded  cur- 
riculum. 

A  few  words  in  relation  to  the  genesis  and  permanency 
of  the  doctrine  of  formal  discipline  will  fitly  close  the 


6o  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

paper.  That  doctrine  is  a  survival  from  the  days  of 
Scholasticism.  Those  days  were  the  halcyon  period  of 
formal  studies.  Formalism,  which  rests  upon  the  machine 
tendency  of  the  human  mind,  then  gained  a  hold  which  four 
centuries  of  real  studies  have  not  sufficed  to  throw  off.  In 
truth,  the  downfall  of  Scholasticism  was  due  primaril}-  to  an 
agent  that,  in  one  way,  perpetuated  its  power.  Humanism 
brought  such  intense  relief  to  the  minds  of  men,  long 
starved  upon  merely  logical  elements,  that  it  became  the 
badge  of  a  new  servitude.  The  Greek  and  I,atin  liter- 
atures took  possession  of  cultivated  minds.  The  clas.sical 
tradition  was  established,  and  it  soon  became  the  most 
powerful  educational  tradition  that  the  world  has  ever 
seen.  As  the  classical  cultures  were  not  vernacular  cul- 
tures, the  schools  were  necessaril)^  made  engines  for 
teaching  foreign  languages.  Admire  as  we  justly  may 
the  classical  chapter  in  the  history  of  human  cultivation, 
we  cannot  deny  that  there  grew  up  a  classical  formalism 
which  was  only  less  tyrannous  than  the  old  scholastic 
formalism  had  been.  When  the  new  regime  came  to  be 
challenged,  its  devotees  cast  about  them  for  means  of  de- 
fense. Unconsciously  borrowing  from  the  scholastics  the 
formal  idea,  they  poured  into  it  the  notion  that  the  classics 
have  an  exclusive,  or  an  almost  exclusive,  educational 
value;  because,  as  alleged,  they  alone  furnish  that  liberal 
or  general  culture  which,  relatively  speaking,  must  form 
the  basis  of  complete  education.  Knowledge,  content, 
substance,  mental  nutriment,  were  relegated  to  a  sec- 
ondary place.  It  became  the  business  of  teachers  to  '  'dis- 
cipline" minds;  which,  indeed,  is  true  enough  if  the 
matter  is  rightly  understood.  This  tendency  went  so  fai- 
that  knowledge,  thought,  ideas,  had  little  to  do  with 
fixing  a  man's  place  in  the  intellectual  world.  The 
supreme  question  was  whether  he  had  read  certain  books, 


THE    DOGMA    OF    FORMAL    DISCIPLINE.  6l 

and  not  whether  he  was  a  man  of  real  cultivation.  This 
exaggerated  claim  has  at  last  been  cast  off.  Greek  and 
L,atin  have  been  relegated  to  their  own  proper  place  as 
educational  powers;  but,  most  unfortunately,  the  con- 
ception of  formal  discipline,  which  was  the  joint  product 
of  the  scholastic  and  the  humanistic  minds,  still  remains 
somewhat  to  vex  our  peace. 


III. 

THE  LAWS  OF  MENTAL  CONGRUENCE 

AND  ENERGY  APPLIED  TO  SOME 

PEDAGOGICAL  PROBLEMS/ 

HK  nouns  "congruence"  and  "  congruity," 
and  the  adjectives  "congruent"  and  "con- 
gruous," are  derived  from  the  Latin  verb 
co7igrucre,  which  means  to  come  together  with 
something,  and  so  to  agree.  The  nouns  mean  suitableness, 
appropriateness,  consistency,  agreement,  coincidence,  cor- 
respondence, fitness,  harmony,  and  the  adjectives  mean 
pertaining  to  or  having  this  quaht}'.  Th;j  words  have 
respect  to  relations,  and  they  are  favorites  with  those 
philosophers  who  place  virtue  in  the  fitness  of  things. 
For  men  to  render  obedience  to  God,  or  for  a  son  to  honor 
Ills  father,  is  said  to  be  congruous  to  tlie  light  of  rea.son. 
' '  Incongruence  ' '  and  ' '  incongruous  ' '  are  the  negatives 
of  these  words.  Congruence  may  be  affirmed  of  physical 
things  alone,  of  psychic  things  alone,  or  of  phj'sical 
and  psychic  things  taken  together.  The  element  of  time 
is  involved.  Congruence  is  simultaneous  or  successive. 
If  successive  activities  are  congruous,  the  first  flows 
naturally  into  the  second  and  they  l)lend;  the  first  leaves 
the  body  or  the  mind,  a-s  the  case  may  be,  in  a  suitable 
frame  to  enter  upon  the  second.    Particular  attention  may 

'The  Report  of  the  comniitleeon  Pedagogics,  submitted  to  the 
National  Council  of  Education  at  Denver,  Col.,  July,  1895.  The 
report  has  been  sonieuhat  expanded  in  preparing  it  for  this  vol- 
ume. It  will  be  seen  that,  in  some  degree,  this  paper  and  the  pre- 
ceding one  overlap. 


THE    LAWS    OF    MENTAL    CONGRUENXE.  63 

be  directed  to  this  point,  because  the  argument  of  this 
paper  will  turn  in  large  part  upon  the  relations  of  succes- 
sive psychic  states. 

First,  7ce  may  glance  at  bodily  activities  as  congruous  or 
incongruons. — It  is  obvious  that  congruence  must  be  af- 
firmed of  some  physical  activities,  incongruence  of  others. 
No  reference  is  here  m^de  to  organic  functions.  Walking 
is  a  good  preparation  for  leaping,  wielding  a  hammer  for 
shoving  a  plane.  But  violent  exercise  disqualifies  the 
muscles  or  nerves  for  any  activity  that  requires  careful 
handling  or  delicate  touch.  The  surgeon  could  not  qualif)' 
himself  for  a  difficult  operation  by  first  engaging  in  the  vig- 
orous exercises  of  the  gymnasium,  nor  the  painter  fit  him- 
self for  putting  the  last  touches  to  a  fine  picture  by  crushing 
stones  with  a  sledge.  No  more  does  the  skillful  teacher 
place  the  writing  or  the  drawing  lesson  just  after  the  school 
recess.  We  need  not  dwell  upon  the  laws  that  underlie 
these  facts  further  than  to  sa)',  that  congruent  exercises 
appear  to  involve,  in  whole  or  in  part,  similar  coordinations 
of  the  muscles  and  nerves  and  similar  physical  tones. 

Secondly,  7C'e  may  speak  of  bodily  and  psychic  states 
as  congruous  or  incongruous. — That  certain  correlations 
exist  between  the  body  and  the  mind  is  too  plain  to 
be  disputed;  also  certain  oppositions  or  antagonisms. 
Mental  power  and  tone  depend  upon  physical  power  and 
tone,  while  states  of  mind  influence  states  of  body.  Re- 
pose of  body  conduces  to  reflection,  meditation,  or  musing. 
Strong  physical  exercise  tends  to  exclude  vigorous  men- 
tal exercise.  Still  there  are  obvious  limits  to  these  effects. 
The  Greeks  laid  stress  upon  maintaining  balance  or  pro- 
portion between  the  body  and  the  soul,  but  their  great 
athletes  and  their  great  writers  or  orators  were  diff'erent 


64  STUDIES    IX    EDUCATION. 

classes  of  persons.  Aristotle  has  left  two  striking  testi- 
monies relative  to  this  subject:  "The  evil  of  excessive 
training  in  early  years  is  strikingly  proved  by  the  exam- 
ple of  the  Olympic  victors;  for  not  more  than  two  or  three 
of  them  have  gained  a  prize  both  as  boys  and  as  men; 
their  early  training  and  severe  gymnastic  exercises 
exhausted  their  constitutions. "  "  Men  ought  not  to  labor 
at  the  same  time  with  their  minds  and  with  their  bodies; 
for  the  two  kinds  of  labor  are  opposed  to  one  another,  the 
labor  of  the  body  impedes  the  mind,  and  the  labor  of  the 
mind  the  body. ' '  ^  This  is  largely  true,  and  the  truth  has 
important  pedagogical  applications,  as  to  the  question 
whether  students  as  a  class  can  carry  on  successfully  the 
work  of  the  classroom  or  the  laboratory  and  of  the  shop 
or  field  at  the  same  time. 

Thirdly,  the  primary  psychic  elements  as  congrzwiis  or 
htcongruous. — Cognition,  feeling,  and  will  are  present  in 
every  fully  developed  state  of  consciousness.  Dr.  Dewey 
calls  them  ' '  the  three  aspects  which  every  consciousness 
presents,  according  to  the  light  in  which  it  is  considered; 
whether  as  giving  information,  as  affecting  the  self  in  a 
painful  or  pleasurable  wa}^  or  as  manifesting  an  activity 
of  self.  But  there  is  still  another  connection.  Just  as  in 
the  organic  body  the  process  of  digestion  cannot  go  on 
without  that  of  circulation,  and  both  require  respiration 
and  ner\^e  action,  which  in  turn  are  dependent  upon  the 
other  processes,  so  in  the  organic  mind.  Knowledge  is 
not  possible  without  feeling  and  will;  and  neither  of  these 
without  the  other  two. ' ' "  This  is  ver}^  well  as  far  as  it 
goes,  but  it  does  not  tell  us  whether  the  three  elements  are 
all  present  in  the  first  or  simplest  state  of  consciousness. 

»  77?.?  Politics,  VIII :  4;  translated  by  Jowett. 
'  Psychology,  pp.  17-18. 


THE  LAWS  OF  MENTAL  CONGRUENCE.       65 

The  further  relations  of  the  three  elements  are  of  the 
greatest  interest,  and  must  be  considered  more  carefully. 
Two  facts  are  easily  observable.  One  is  that  up  to  a  cer- 
tain point  the  three  elements  vary  directly;  the  other  is 
that  beyond  this  point  they  vary  inversely.  Until  the 
mental  current  reaches  a  given  height,  cognition,  feeling, 
and  will  swell  together;  that  point  reached,  any  one  of 
the  three  must  swell  at  the  cost  of  one  or  both  the  others. 
Hoffding,  who  does  not,  however,  generalize  them  into  a 
single  law,  presents  these  interesting  facts: — 

Self-observation  reveals  at  most  only  an  approximation  to  a 
state  in  which  all  cognitive  elements  have  vanished.  Such  an 
approximation  is  reached,  the  more  the  strength  of  the  feeling-ele- 
ment increases.  Cognition  and  feeling  must  thus  stand  in  inverse 
relation  to  one  another;  the  more  strongly  the  one  is  manifested, 
the  less  the  strength  at  the  command  of  the  other.  An  over- 
whelming joy  or  sorrow  may  drive  out  all  ideation,  all  recollec- 
tion; but  an  ecstatic  condition  of  this  kind  stands  on  the  margin 
of  consciousness.     .     .     . 

It  is  only  in  the  course  of  psychological  development  that  dif- 
ferentiation between  feeling  and  will  makes  its  appearance. 
There  comes  to  be  an  even  greater  contrast  between  the  two  ways 
in  which  inner  movement  finds  a  vent.  The  psychological  impor- 
tance of  the  law  of  persistence  of  energy  is  here  seen  plainly,  for 
the  more  energy  an  individual  expendson  the  one  kind  of  reaction, 
the  less  can  be  expended  on  the  other.  This  truth  is  strikingly 
illustrated  in  Saxo's  well-known  tale  of  the  diflferent  effect  which 
the  news  of  the  murder  of  Regner  Lodbrog  produced  on  his  sons: 
he  in  whom  the  emotion  was  weakest  has  the  greatest  energy  for 
action. ' 

This  subject  is  one  to  which  Dr.  Sully  does  the  fullest 
justice.  Dealing  with  the  opposition  between  knowing, 
feeling,  and  wiUing,  he  says: 

These  three  kinds  of  mental  state  are,  as  we  have  seen,  in  gen- 
eral clearly  marked  off  from  one  another.     A  child  in  a  state  of 

»  Outlines  of  Psychology.  Translated  by  Mary  E.  Lowndes, 
pp.  98-99. 


66  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

strong  emotional  excitement  contrasts  with  a  child  calmly  think- 
ing about  something,  or  another  child  exerting  his  active  powers 
in  doing  something.  If  we  take  any  one  of  these  aspects  of  mind 
in  a  well-marked  form,  we  see  that  it  is  opposed  to  the  other 
aspects.  Thus  strong  feeling  is  opposed  to  and  precludes  at  the 
time  calm  thinking  (recollecting,  reasoning),  as  well  as  regulated 
action  (will).  Similarly,  the  intellectual  state  of  remembering  or 
reasoning  is  opposed  to  feeling  and  to  doing.  The  mind  cannot 
exhibit  each  kind  of  phenomenon  in  a  marked  degree  at  the  same 
time. 

This  opposition  may  be  seen  in  another  way.  If  we  compare 
not  different  states  of  the  same  mind,  but  different  minds  as  a 
whole,  we  often  find  now  one  kind  of  one  mental  state  or  opera- 
tion, now  another  in  the  ascendant.  Minds  marked  by  much  feel- 
ing (sensitive,  emotional  natures)  commoul}-  manifest  less  of  the 
intellectual  and  volitional  aspects  or  properties.  Similarly,  minds 
of  a  high  degree  of  intellectual  capability  (inquiring  or  inquisitive 
minds),  or  of  much  active  endowment  (active  minds),  are  as  a 
nile  relatively  weak  in  the  other  kinds  of  endowment. » 

Again,  after  observing  that  the  relation  of  the  emotional 
to  the  intellectual  side  of  mental  growth  is  at  once  a  rela- 
tion of  mutual  opposition  and  of  reciprocal  aid,  Dr.  Sully 
goes  on  to  say: 

In  the  first  place,  feeling  and  knowing  are  in  a  manner  op- 
posed. The  mind  cannot  at  the  same  moment  be  in  a  state  of 
intense  emotional  excitement  and  of  close  intellectual  application. 
All  violent  feeling  takes  possession  of  the  mind,  masters  the 
attention,  and  precludes  the  due  carrying  out  of  the  intellectual 
processes.  Nice  intellectual  work,  such  as  discovering  unob- 
trusive differences  or  similarities  among  objects,  or  following  out 
an  intricate  chain  of  reasoning,  is  impossible  except  in  a  compara- 
tively calm  state  of  mind.  Even  when  there  is  no  strong  emo- 
tional agitation  present,  intellectual  processes  may  be  interfered 
with  by  the  subtile  influence  of  the  feelings  on  the  thoughts  work- 
ing in  the  shape  of  bias.  Thus  a  child  that  finds  a  task  distasteful 
is  apt  to  reject  the  idea  that  the  study  is  useful.  His  feeling  of 
dislike  prejudices  his  mind  and  blinds  him  to  considerations 
which  he  would  otherwise  recognize.     Hence  the  special  difiicul- 

'  Outlines  of  Psychology,  pp.  21-22. 


THE  LAWS  OF  MENTAL  CONGRUEN'CE.       67 

ties  which,  as  every  teacher  knows,  are  couuected  with  the  intel- 
lectual training  of  children  of  a  highly  emotional  temperament. 

On  the  other  hand,  as  we  saw  above,  all  intellectual  activity, 
since  it  implies  interest,  depends  on  the  presence  of  a  certain 
moderate  degree  of  feeling.  It  may  be  said,  indeed,  that  all 
good  and  eflfective  intellectual  work  involves  the  presence  of  a 
gentle  wave  of  pleasurable  emotion.  Attention  is  more  livel3', 
images  recur  more  abundantly,  and  thought  traces  out  its  relations 
more  quickly  when  there  is  an  under-current  of  pleasure.  Hence 
rapid  intellectual  progress  is  furthered  by  lively  intellectual 
feelings 

We  thus  see  how  the  cultivation  of  intellect  and  of  emotion  in- 
volve one  another  in  a  measure.  In  order  to  exercise  the  intel- 
lectual powers  to  the  utmost,  we  must  aim  at  making  study 
pleasurable.  And  if  we  wish  to  strengthen  the  higher  emotions, 
such  as  the  moral  sentiment  and  the  love  of  truth,  we  must  seek 
to  exercise  the  intellectual  powers.  ^ 

And  finally,  in  discussing  the  relation  of  willing  to 
knowing  and  feeling,  he  notes  again  an  opposition  and  a 
connection: 

The  outgoings  of  the  mind  in  action,  involving  the  excitation  or 
"innervation"  of  the  motor  nerves  and  muscles,  are  incompatible 
with  the  comparatively  passive  state  of  observing  something  or 
thinking  aboiit  something,  with  its  phj'sical  accompaniment  of 
bodily  stillness.  The  man  of  energetic  action  is  popularly  con- 
trasted with  the  man  of  reflection.  Similarly,  strong  emotional 
excitement  and  action  are  incompatible,  and  the  man  of  strong 
will  is  one  who  among  other  things  brings  emotion  under  con- 
trol. 

At  the  same  time,  voluutarj-  action  always  includes  an  element 
of  knowing  and  feeling.  The  motive  to  voluntary  action,  the  end 
or  thing  desired,  is  the  gratification  of  some  feeling,  e.  g.,  ambi- 
tion, or  the  love  of  applause.  And  we  cannot  act  for  a  purpose 
without  knowing  something  about  the  relation  between  the  action 
we  are  performing  and  the  result  we  are  aiming  at.  Thus  it  is 
feeling  which  ultimately  supplies  the  stimulus  or  force  to  voli- 
tion, and  intellect  which  guides  or  illumines  it.  '^ 

1  Outlines  0/ Psychology,  pp.  451,  452,  453. 

2  Ibid,  pp.  573,  574. 


68  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

From  the  premises  before  us  two  or  three  simple  but 
important  pedagogical  rules  are  derived.  One  is  that  a 
gentle  glow  or  wave  of  pleasurable  feeling  should  play 
over  the  mind  of  the  individual  pupil  and  through  the 
school.  The  intellect  thrives  best  in  a  suitable  emotional 
climate.  Courage,  hopefulness,  appreciation,  rather  than 
their  opposites,  should  temper  the  atmosphere  of  the 
schoolroom.  Optimism  is  more  congenial  to  the  normal 
mind  than  pessimism.  Another  rule  is  that  pupils  should 
be  protected  against  strongly  excited  feeling,  no  matter 
whether  the  feeling  is  their  own  or  that  of  another  into 
which  they  enter  through  sympathy.  The  wheels  of  the 
intellect,  so  to  speak,  will  not  revolve  freely  in  a  flood  of 
turbulent  emotion.  No  gusts  of  anger,  cjxlones  of  pas- 
sion, or  waves  of  sympathetic  impulse  in  the  school! 
Especially  is  the  feeling  that  the  teacher  is  unjust  very 
harmful  to  the  pupil.  No  immediate  reference  is  here 
made  to  morals.  ' '  Nothing  retards  the  acquirement  of 
the  power  of  directing  the  intellectual  processes  so  much, ' ' 
says  Dr.  Carpenter,  in  a  striking  passage,  "as  the 
emotional  disturbance  which  the  feeling  of  injustice  pro- 
vokes." '     Again,  genuine  interest  may  reach  too  high  a 

*  This  more  extended  passage  may  be  quoted:  "Those  'strong- 
miuded'  teachers  who  object  to  these  modes  of  '  making  things 
pleasant,'  as  an  unworthy  and  undesirable  'weakness,'  are  ignorant 
that  in  this  stage  of  the  child-mind,  the  will — that  is,  the  power  of 
Jd^//'-control — is  weak;  and  that  the  primary  object  of  education  is 
to  encourage  and  strengthen,  not  to  repress,  that  power.  Great 
mistakes  are  often  made  by  parents  and  teachers,  who,  being 
ignorant  of  this  fundamental  fact  of  child-nature,  treat  as  zcil/ul- 
ncss  what  is  in  reality  just  the  contrary  of  will-fulness;  being  the 
direct  result  of  the  want  of  volitional  control  over  the  automatic 
activity  of  the  brain.  To  punish  a  child  for  the  want  of  obedience 
which  it  has  not  the  power  to  render,  is  to  inflict  an  injury  which 
may  almost  be  said  to  be  irreparable.  For  nothing  tends  so  much 
to  prevent  the  healthful  development  of  the  moral  sense,  as  the 


THE  LAWS  OF  MENTAL  CONGRUENCE.       69 

pitch.  When  Sir  Isaac  Newton  saw  that  the  train  of 
reasoning  which  he  had  so  long  been  following  would 
establish  his  working  hypothesis,  his  emotions  would 
not  allow  him  to  continue,  and  he  was  obliged  to 
hand  his  manuscripts  over  to  a  friend  to  complete  the 
work. 

Next,  we  come  to  the  intellectual  activities  as  cong?'2ions 
and  incongruous. — Here  we  reach  the  application  of  the  law 
of  congruity  to  education  that,  considered  from  the  point 
of  view  of  the  school,  is  the  most  important  of  all.  So 
much  will  be  admitted  by  those  at  least  who  regard  teach- 
ing as  the  main  function  of  the  school.  We  must  there- 
fore proceed  more  slowly  with  this  division  of  the  subject. 
In  fact,  it  is  the  main  topic  of  this  report.  Still,  it  is  not 
proposed  to  deal  in  detail  with  the  nature  or  the  relations 
of  the  cognitive  elements.  These  elements  are  treated  in 
every  text-book  of  psychology;  and,  although  some  of 
the  treatment  may  be  false,  the  commonly  accepted  views 
will  answer  the  present  purpose. 

infliction  of  punishment  which  the  child  feels  to  be  utij'ust;  and 
nothing  retards  the  acquirement  of  the  power  of  directing  the  in- 
tellectual processes  so  much  as  the  emotional  disturbance  which 
the  feeling  of  injustice  provokes.  Hence  the  determination,  often 
expressed,  to  break  the  will  of  an  obstinate  child  by  punishment, 
is  almost  certain  to  strengthen  these  reactionary  influences. 
Many  a  child  is  put  into  '  durance  vile  '  for  not  learning  '  the 
little  busy  bee,'  who  simply  cannot  give  its  small  mind  to  the  task, 
whilst  disturbed  by  stern  commands  and  threats  of  yet  severer 
punishment  for  a  disobedience  it  cannot  help;  when  a  suggestion 
kindly  and  skillfully  adapted  to  its  automatic  nature,  by  directing 
the  turbid  current  of  thought  and  feeling  into  a  smoother  channel, 
and  guiding  the  activity  which  it  does  not  attempt  to  oppose,  shall 
bring  about  the  desired  result,  to  the  surprise  alike  of  the  bafiled 
teacher,  the  passionate  pupil,  and  the  perplexed  bystanders," — 
Mental  Psychology,  pp.  134-135, 


yO  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

I.  Here,  as  in  the  case  of  cognition,  feeling,  and  will, 
we  observe  both  mutual  opposition  and  reciprocal  aid.  Up 
to  a  certain  point,  cognitive  elements  grow  together;  be- 
yond that  point,  the  greater  the  energy  expended  on  one 
kind  of  reaction,  the  less  can  be  expended  on  another 
kind.  The  completed  action  of  perception  involves  mem- 
ory; but  energetic  observation,  as  of  a  single  object,  is  at 
the  expense  of  memory,  while  intense  memory-,  on  the 
other  hand,  tends  to  withdraw  attention  from  surround- 
ing objects.  The  imagination  stimulates  the  thought- 
processes  until  the  point  is  reached  where  it  assumes  the  as- 
cendant and  reflection  retires  into  the  background.  Imag- 
ination and  reflection,  both  in  an  excited  state,  cannot 
dwell  together  in  the  same  person  or  hardly  in  the  same 
house.  Sense-perception  furnishes  the  logical  faculties 
needed  materials;  still,  become  too  obtrusive,  sense-per- 
ception is  fatal  to  thought.  Men  or  peoples  who  li\-e  in 
the  senses  do  not  live  in  the  reason,  and  vice  versa. 

This  point  is  pedagogically  so  important  that  we  ma}' 
well  dwell  upon  it  a  little  longer.  The  Natural 
Realists  make  the  sense-elements  of  knowledge  prominent 
in  the  school.  Originating  as  a  reaction  from  excessive 
devotion  to  the  printed  page,  the  Realistic  movement  has 
been  most  fruitful  of  good  results.  With  it  are  identified 
the  great  names  of  Comenius  and  Pestalozzi.  To  it  we 
are  indebted  for  the  enlargement  of  science  teaching,  and 
the  extended  use  of  object  lessons  and  objective  methods 
of  instruction.  At  the  same  time,  the  true  limits  of  sense- 
realism  are  soon  reached.  Knowledge  begins  with  the 
senses,  but  does  not  end  with  tlie  senses.  Properly 
speaking,  a  developing  mind  soon  lea\x'S  them  behind. 
vSensation  is  l)ut  a  coarse  form  of  feeling,  and  is  subject  to 
the  same  law  as  feeling.  An  excess  of  .sense-elements  in 
the  mind  smothers   the   rational  elements.     A  blinding 


THE  LAWS  OF  MENTAL  CONGRUENCE.       7 1 

flash  of  lightning  or  a  deafening  peal  of  thunder  arrests 
the  operations  of  the  higher  mental  activities;  while  less 
powerful  sense  impressions  produce  a  more  lasting,  if  a 
less  intense,  effect.  The  great  scientific  discoveries  have 
not  been  made  in  immediate  contact  with  nature,  but  in 
the  retirement  of  the  study.  Nor  is  time  the  only  ele- 
ment that  is  involved  in  this  fact;  when  immediate  con- 
tact exists,  and  is  vital,  nature  may  overpower  the 
mind.  It  has  been  said  that  the  machine  may  be  lost 
in  its  parts,  or  the  picture  in  the  colors  that  compose  it. 
Equally  may  the  universe  be  lost  in  the  multitude  of  the 
stars.  Concentrated  attention  upon  the  teduiic  of  an  art 
retards  the  development  of  its  higher  elements.  A  house- 
builder  is  not  likely  to  excel  as  an  architect ;  the  practical 
elements  of  the  trade  exclude  the  ideal  elements  that 
are  essential  to  the  art.  On  this  basis  Aristotle's 
prejudice  against  useful  studies  rested.  "  There  can  be 
no  doubt, ' '  he  wrote,  ' '  that  children  should  be  taught 
those  useful  things  which  are  really  necessary,  but  not  all 
things;  for  occupations  are  divided  into  liberal  and  illiberal; 
and  to  5'oung  children  should  be  imparted  only  such  kinds 
of  knowledge  as  will  be  useful  to  them  without  vulgar- 
izing them.  And  an}'  occupation,  art,  or  science  which 
makes  the  body  or  soul  or  mind  of  the  freeman  less  fit  for 
the  practice  or  exercise  of  virtue,  is  vulgar;  wherefore  we 
call  those  arts  vulgar  which  tend  to  deform  the  body,  and 
likewise  all  paid  employments,  for  they  absorb  and  degrade 
the  mind. ' '  * 

Abstract  thinking— the  thinking  of  relations  and  unities 
— which  is  the  highest  form  of  thought,  is  possible  only 
when  the  mind  has  been  unsensed  or  dematerialized. 
Whether  instruction  in  physics  should  begin  with  theory 
or  experiment  is  a   mooted  question.      Begin  where  the 

»  The  Politics,  VIII :  2. 


72  STUDIES    IX    EDUCATION. 

teacher  may,  he  has  not  taught  the  subject  until  he  has 
taught  those  logical  elements  that  give  it  its  character. 
Still  more,  an  excess  of  brilliant  experiments  may  hinder 
rather  than  hasten  the  work.  Experiments  are  like  ex- 
amples, of  which  it  has  been  said : 

Examples  may  be  heaped  until  they  hide 
The  rules  that  they  were  made  to  render  plain. 

II.  The  practical  application  of  the  principles  of  con- 
gruence to  teaching  involves  the  selection  and  grouping 
of  studies.  It  brings  before  us  the  large  subject  to  which 
the  terms  ' '  correlation, ' '  ' '  coordination, ' '  ' '  organiza- 
tion," and  "concentration"  of  studies  have  been  some- 
what indiscriminately  applied.  It  is  not  proposed  to 
discuss  these  terms  in  this  report,  or  even  the  subject 
itself,  save  as  it  involves  fundamental  principles.  But  to 
do  even  as  much  as  this  makes  it  necessary  to  state  the 
principal  laws  relating  to  mental  energy. 

1.  When  any  stimulus,  as  a  sense  object,  an  idea,  or  a 
lesson,  is  applied  to  the  mind,  the  mind  is  not  at  once 
fully  energized,  but  some  time  must  elapse  before  it  swells 
to  the  maximum  of  power. 

2.  This  maximum  of  power  continues  for  a  time,  or, 
in  the  language  of  science,  mental  energy  tends  to  persist. 

3.  The  maximum  cannot,  however,  be  indefinitely 
maintained.  On  the  contrary,  when  the  mental  current 
reaches  what  may  be  called  the  fatigue-point  it  begins  to  fall 
off  in  volume,  but  the  fall  is  less  rapid  than  the  previous 
rise.  Still  the  volume  can  be  temporarily  renewed, 
in  part  or  in  whole,  by  the  application  of  a  stronger 
stimulus. 

4.  An  interruption  of  the  mental  current  retards  the 
energizing  process,  or  frustrates  the  reaching  of  the 
maximum  of  power.     Such  interruption  is  caused  by  the 


THE    LAWS    OF   MENTAL   CONGRUENCE,  73 

introduction  of  incongruous  materials.  If  the  incon- 
gruity be  of  a  marked  character,  the  mind  will  come  to  a 
state  of  rest,  or  a  new  current  flowing  from  a  new  center 
will  be  started. 

5.  Through  repetition,  the  energizing  process  becomes 
easier  and  more  rapid.  Repeated  activity  in  the  same 
direction  tends  to  groove  the  mind,  or,  to  change  the  fig- 
ure, the  stream  of  activity  digs  out  for  itself  a  permanent 
channel  of  discharge. 

6.  Mental  power  is  of  two  kinds,  specific  and  generic. 
In  other  words,  the  power  that  is  generated  in  any  activ- 
ity can  be  fully  used  again  in  the  same  kind  of  activity, 
but  only  partly  used  in  other  kinds — the  measure  of  the 
difference  being  the  relative  unlikeness  of  the  two 
activities. 

7.  Mental  fatigue,  like  mental  power,  is  also  specific  or 
generic.  The  mind  may  need  rest  from  a  certain  kind  of 
activity,  or  it  may  need  rest  from  all  kinds,  or  from  all 
energetic  kinds. 

These  psychic  laws  have  their  analogues  in  physical 
laws.  The  phj^siological  psychologists  find  the  causes 
in  nerve  and  brain  action,  the  explanation  going  back  to 
the  familiar  functions  of  waste  and  repair.  Moreover, 
these  laws  cannot  be  stated  in  quantitative  terms.  No  one 
can  tell,  in  general,  how  long  it  takes  fully  to  energize  a 
mind  at  a  given  time,  or  how  far  removed  the  fatigue- 
point  is  from  the  initial  point  of  greatest  energy.  Very 
much  depends  upon  age,  discipline,  phj^sical  health,  the 
character  of  the  stimulus,  mental  aptitude,  and  other  cir- 
cumstances. As  a  rule,  the  periods  lengthen  as  the  indi- 
vidual passes  from  childhood  to  3'outh  and  from  j^outli  to 
manhood.  That  is,  a  man's  mental  force  is  less  quickh' 
aroused  and  mobilized  than  a  child's,  but  it  tends  to  per- 
sist much  longer. 


74  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

III.  From  the  laws  of  congruence  and  energy  we  derive 
some  important  rules  of  teaching,  and  as  they,  or  at  least 
some  of  them,  bear  on  the  selection  and  grouping  of 
studies  they  will  be  stated  in  this  place.  While  these 
laws  are  applicable  to  all  grades  of  teaching,  they  are  par- 
ticularly iiuportant  in  relation  to  primary  teaching. 

1.  Sufficient  time  must  be  allowed  for  the  pupil  to 
collect  his  energies,  to  mobilize  his  forces.  Slow  and 
halting  recitations  tend  to  dulness  of  mind,  while  hurried 
recitations  develop  either  confusion  or  shallowness.  There 
must  be  a  certain  singleness  or  isolation  of  the  fact  or  idea. 
"The  child  must  be  accustomed  to  give  one  impression 
time  to  take  root,"  says  Radestock,  "and  not  follow  it 
immediatel}'  b}^  a  corresponding  action,  that  it  ma}'  not 
pass  away  with  that  action  into  air. ' '  The  same  writer 
quotes  the  following  from  Lazarus,  with  approval :  '  'Deep 
thinking  requires  time;  it  is  therefore  a  great  pedagogical 
mistake  if  teachers — as  is  now  generally  done — urge  their 
pupils  to  answer  rapidly,  and  praise  those  who  immedi- 
ately have  an  answer  ready.  This  causes  everything  to 
be  lowered  to  a  mere  effort  of  mechanical  memory.  The 
pupil  should  be  given  time  for  individual  contemplation, 
for  deep  and  energetic  thought-labor."^  This  does  not 
imply  that  lessons  are  not  to  be  well  prepared  and  subjects 
well  thought  out  beforehand.  When  the  fullest  prepara- 
tion has  been  made,  there  is  still  opportunity  for  energetic 
thought  at  the  time  of  the  recitation. 

2.  The  pupil  .should  be  held  to  the  same  subject  as  long 
as  the  mental  current  flows  with  full  volume.  To  no  new 
subject  can  all  the  energy  that  has  been  aroused  by  any 
activity  be  transferred,  and  to  some  subjects  none  what- 
ever. Unnecessary  changes  from  subject  to  subject,  or  from 
lesson  to  lesson,  involve  the  dissipation,   and  .subsequent 

1  Habit,  pp.  36-37. 


THE  LAWS  OF  MENTAL  CONGRUENCE.       75 

loss,  of  both  time  and  power,  the  amount  of  which  will 
depend  mainly  upon  the  relative  congruity  or  incongruity 
of  the  different  subjects  or  activities.  More  power  can  be 
transferred  from  Latin  to  Greek  than  from  French  to 
German.  This  is  Dr.  Bain's  explanation  of  the  rule 
laid  down:  "We  know  well  enough  that  the  nervous 
currents,  when  strongly  aroused  in  any  direction,  tend 
to  persist  for  some  time;  in  the  act  of  learning,  this 
persistence  will  count  in  stamping  a  new  impression ;  while 
part  of  the  effect  of  a  lesson  must  be  lost  in  hurrying  with- 
out a  moment's  break  to  something  new,  even  although 
the  change  is  of  the  nature  of  relief"^  Shifting  the 
mind  from  one  subject  to  another  may  be  compared  to 
shifting  a  locomotive  from  one  track  to  another;  or,  better 
still,  it  may  be  compared  to  shifting  locomotives  ever}'  mile. 

3.  Advantage  should  be  taken  of  favoring  times  to  do 
certain  kinds  of  work.  The  more  difficult  subjects  .should 
be  pursued  b}'  a  pupil  or  student  when  both  body  and 
mind  are  fresh  and  vigorous.  It  is  the  flood-tide,  not  the 
ebb-tide,  that  brings  the  great  ships  up  to  the  dock. 

4.  Before  the  pupil  reaches  the  fatigue-point,  the  teacher 
should  permit  him  either  to  take  up  another  subject  or  to 
drop  .study  for  the  time  altogether.  By  the  fatigue-point 
is  meant,  not  the  listlessncss  or  dulncss  of  inattention,  but 
weariness  growing  from  legitimate  labor.  Persistent 
application  on  a  stream  of  falling  energy  involves  waste 
of  time  and  power,  and  may  lead  to  serious  results.  To 
.some  extent,  no  doubt,  the  needed  relief  can  be  had 
through  a  change  of  method  or  by  bringing  forward 
some  new  aspect  of  the  subject- 

5.  Whether  the  pupil  should  take  up  a  new  study  or 
drop  all  stud}'  for  the  time,  depends  upon  the  kind  o{ 
fatigue  that  has  supervened.     Diminished  power  for  one 

1  John  Stuart  Mill,  p.  23, 


76  STUDIES    IN   EDUCATION. 

activity  is  not  diminished  power  for  all  activities.  Thus, 
a  pupil  who  has  studied  arithmetic  or  algebra  as  long  as 
it  is  profitable  to-day,  will  take  up  geography  or  history 
with  interest,  and  vice  versa.  To  a  degree,  studies  are 
like  gases,  they  are  vacuums  one  to  another.  As  a  jar 
that  is  already  filled  with  hydrogen  will  still  hold  as 
much  carbonic  acid  as  a  jar  of  the  same  size  that  is 
empty,  so  a  pupil  that  is  satisfied  for  the  present  with 
mathematics  will  pursue  literature  with  interest  and  profit. 

6.  The  school  course  of  study  should  be  made  up  with 
constant  reference  to  the  psychic  laws  that  have  been  laid 
down.  Studies  should  be  chosen  and  combined;  that  is, 
with  reference  to  economy  of  time  and  power.  Into  the 
question  how  far  ps}'chology,  and  how  far  environment, 
should  control  the  educational  ideal,  and  so  the  educa- 
tional material,  we  need  not  enter.  No  one  denies  that 
pyschology  must  largely  influence  the  choice  of  studies 
and  almost  wholly  control  their  coordination. 

7.  In  particular  should  the  working  programme  of  the 
.school  be  made  up  with  reference  to  the  same  principles, 
and  for  the  same  reasons. 

8.  The  principle  of  congruence  and  its  limitations  have 
important  applications  to  elective  studies  in  colleges  and 
universities.  In  filling  out  election  blanks,  it  is  believed 
that  students  who  are  wholly  left  to  themselves  often  choo.se 
studies  which  make  strange  bedfellows.  Nor  is  this  sur- 
prising; the  criteria  that  should  govern  such  choices  are 
considerably  subtile  and  intricate.  This  topic,  however, 
will  come  before  us  again. 

The  arguments  on  which  the  three  last  rules  rest  are 
practically  the  same.  They  involve  the  important  sub- 
ject of  concentration.  Congruent  studies  reenforce  one 
another  with  respect  to  both  content  and  mental  aptitude: 
one  subject  involves  other  subjects.     The  physicist  must 


THE  LAWS  OF  MENTAL  CONGRUENCE.      77 

be  a  mathematician,  the  historian  must  be  acquainted 
with  politics  and  poHtical  economy,  and  the  geologist  must 
be  familiar  with  chemistry,  botan}',  and  zoology.  For  a 
time  depth  and  breadth  vary  directly,  after  that  indirectly. 
But  in  the  absolute  sense  a  specialist  is  an  impossibility. 
An  astronomer  cannot  study  the  moon  by  itself,  or  a  physi- 
ologist the  eye.  No  one  object  or  subject  can  be  under- 
stood when  taken  alone;  it  is  related  to  other  objects;  it  is 
a  part  of  the  universe.  Still,  to  be  effective  the  mind 
must  be  grooved,  and  this  involves  the  repetition  of  the 
same  act  and  of  similar  acts.  Once  more,  if  the  practi- 
cal requirements  of  the  school  compel  a  study  to  be  dis- 
continued before  the  fatigue-point  is  reached,  thus  depart- 
ing from  the  ideal,  then  some  related  subject  maybe  taken 
up,  because  more  of  the  power  that  has  been  accumulated 
can  be  transferred  to  a  related  than  to  an  unrelated  sub- 
ject. And  still  the  nearness  of  the  pupil  to  the  fatigue- 
point  must  be  considered.  In  other  words,  whether  a 
pupil  should  be  transferred  to  a  related  or  an  unrelated 
subject,  must  depend  upon  himself  and  his  present  mental 
condition. 

IV.  But  congruence  alone  must  not  dictate  the  course  of 
study,  the  daily  school  programme,  or  the  college  student's 
elections.  Fortunately,  there  may  be  power  for  one  sub- 
ject when  there  is  none  for  another  subject.  We  have 
spoken  of  the  mind  under  the  similitude  of  a  stream  or 
current.  The  fact  is,  however,  that  the  mind  is  less  like 
a  river  from  which  you  may  take  water  for  any  purpose, 
than  it  is  like  a  bank  where  the  total  amount  of  money  on 
deposit  is  divided  among  many  different  accounts,  and  is 
subject  to  check  by  as  many  different  persons.  There 
may  be  money  for  the  teacher  of  history  or  literature  when 
there  is  none  for  the  teacher  of  mathematics  or  physics. 


78  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

This  is  due  to  specialization  of  powers — to  the  difference 
between  specific  and  generic  force.  The  one-study  col- 
lege is  therefore  just  as  unphilosophical  as  the  school 
that  breaks  the  hours  up  into  crumbs  of  time.  Thus  the 
fundamental  laws  of  mental  energ}^  or  of  interest  if  you 
will,  impose  a  veto  upon  an  exaggerated  form  of  concen- 
tration. 

It  is  further  to  be  observed  that  concentration  is  a  rela- 
tive term  at  best.  No  wise  teacher  proposes  to  limit  the 
pupil  to  a  single  study  or  class  of  exercises.  To  do  so 
would  in  reality  involve  the  dogma  of  formal  discipline  in 
its  most  extreme  form.  Another  remark  is  that  concen- 
tration in  the  lower  school  may  be  overdone  as  easily  as 
expansion  in  the  higher  school.  It  has  been  shown 
time  and  again  that  the  child  may  be  overtaught  certain 
subjects.  His  impressible  mind  may  be  so  deeply  and 
narrow^}'  grooved  that  it  can  never  be  broadly  cultivated. 
It  becomes  indurated,  as  it  were.  This  result  may  be  due 
in  part  to  the  intensit}^  of  the  activity,  but  it  is  more  due 
to  its  persistence.  As  the  mind  matures,  there  is  less  and 
less  need  of  caution  on  this  point.  The  pupil  gets  farther 
and  farther  away  from  the  mechanical  elements  of  knowl- 
edge, becomes  more  and  more  occupied  with  the  higher 
elements,  and  so  is  less  responsive  to  narrowing  influences. 
While  the  child's  activities  must  be  duly  limited,  his 
full  development  still  calls  for  a  relative  profusion  of 
educational  material. 

Once  more,  congruence  itself  is  not  an  abstract  quality 
of  studies.  On  the  contrar}-,  it  is  eminently  concrete.  The 
practical  question  is  not  the  general  one,  whether  such  and 
such  studies  or  topics  will  go  well  together  in  general,  but 
the  specific  one,  whether  they  will  go  well  together  in  the 
case  of  such  or  such  a  student.  Studies  that  sometimes  repel 
at  other  times  attract  one  anotlier;  or  studies  that  seem  to 


THE  LAWS  OF  MENTAL  CONGRUENCE.       79 

have  no  affinities,  but  the  contrary,  dwell  together  in  some 
minds  in  perfect  unity.  It  is  common  to  find  students 
who  excel  in  studies  as  unlike  as  literature  or  language 
and  mathematics  or  phj^sics.  The  rule,  however,  is 
probably  the  other  way.  For  some  reasons  it  would  be 
better  to  speak  of  the  congruence  of  mental  faculties 
than  of  studies. 

At  this  point  some  very  practical  questions  confront  the 
teacher  and  superintendent.  How  long  should  a  pupil  be 
kept  at  work  on  the  same  subject?  How  much  work 
should  he  do  in  one  school-day  ?  How  frequently  should 
he  change  from  one  subject  to  another?  How  many 
studies  should  he  have  ?  No  man  can  answer  these  ques- 
tions in  formulae;  the  teacher  and  superintendent  must 
answer  them  as  they  arise,  and  to  do  so  they  will  find  their 
best  observation  and  judgment  seriously  taxed.  It  may 
well  be  doubted  whether  the  common  schools  are  not  now 
sacrificing  the  best  results  to  swollen  programmes  and 
short  exercises.  The  question  is  one  that  the  superin- 
tendent should  study  with  a  transcript  of  the  foregoing 
facts  in  one  hand  and  his  course  of  study  and  time-table 
in  the  other.  There  is  no  reasonable  doubt  that  much 
exdl  in  the  school  that  is  now  charged  to  the  account  of 
overwork,  should  rather  be  charged  to  work  that  is  done 
in  the  wrong  way. 

The  psychic  facts  to  which  the  names  of  congruence 
and  energy  have  been  given,  demand  fuller  investigation 
than  they  have  hitherto  receix^ed.  It  is  well  known  that 
school  programmes,  both  in  respect  to  the  coordination 
of  subjects  and  the  length  of  exercises,  commonly  rest 
upon  a  crude  empirical  basis.  The  factors  that  control 
those  who  make  them,  appear  to  be  the  necessities  of  the 
school,  real  or  supposed,  tradition,  and  individual  experi- 
ence.    This  empiricism  is  not  surprising,  considering  the 


8o  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

meager  attention  that  psychologists  and  pedagogists  have 
given  to  the  principles  that  underlie  good  school  pro- 
grammes. Very  little  attention  has  been  given  to  the 
time  elements  involved  in  psychic  energy  as  applied  to 
school  exercises.  When  three  heavy  subjects  appear  upon 
the  programme  for  the  day — subjects  demanding  the  fixa- 
tion of  the  attention — you  will  not  indeed  commonly  find 
them  all  crowded  into  the  same  session;  but  that  is  about 
as  far  as  the  attempt  to  accomodate  the  work  to  the  pupil's 
ability  in  this  regard  has  been  carried.  Such  delicate 
questions  as  these  occur:  How  much  time  elapses  between 
the  application  of  different  stimuli  to  the  child-mind  at 
different  ages,  and  the  development  of  maximum  psychic 
power  ?  How  long  is  the  interval  between  such  maximum 
and  the  fatigue-point  ?  In  respect  to  the  swelling  of  the 
mental  current  to  its  full  volume,  and  in  respect  to  its 
persistence,  how  much  depends  upon  the  pupil's  age  ? 
How  much  upon  his  mental  character  ?  How  much  upon 
the  peculiar  stimuli  at  different  ages  ?  And  how  much 
upon  the  teacher's  skill  ?  It  is  easy  to  translate  these 
questions  into  the  practical  interests  of  the  school.  They 
cannot  be  answered  without  much  careful  observation  and 
collaboration  of  facts.  The  whole  subject  should  enlist 
the  serious  attention  of  students  of  child-study,  both 
under  its  physiological  and  psychological  aspects,  and  it  is 
earnestly  recommended  to  their  attention, 

V.  The  correlation  of  the  teacher  and  the  text-book, 
if  one  be  used,  demands  something  more  than  passing 
notice.  Dr.  Bain  has  said  that  undoubtedly  the  best  of  all 
ways  to  learn  anything  is  to  have  a  competent  teacher 
"dole  out  a  fixed  quantity  of  matter  every  day,  just 
sufficient  to  be  taken  in  and  no  more;  the  pupils  to  apply 
themselves  to  the  matter  so  imparted,  and  to  nothing  else. 


THE    LAWS    OF    MENTAL    CONGRUENCE.  8l 

The  singleness  of  aim  is  favorable,"  he  urges,  "to  the 
greatest  rapidit}^  of  acquirement;  and  any  defects  should 
be  left  out  of  account  until  one  thread  of  ideas  is  firmly 
set  in  the  mind."  Still  he  admits  that  not  unfrequently, 
and  not  improperlj^  the  teacher  has  a  text-book  to  aid 
him  in  his  work.  To  make  this  a  help  and  not  a  hin- 
drance demands  the  greatest  delicac)',  since  the  pupil 
must  be  kept  in  one  single  line  of  thought,  and  never 
be  required  to  comprehend  on  the  same  point  conflict- 
ing or  varying  statements.  Even  the  foot-notes  may  have 
to  be  disregarded  in  the  first  instance,  since  they  act  like 
a  second  author,  and  so  keep  up  an  irritating  friction.' 

Nothing  else  is  so  essential  to  successful  elementary 
teaching  as  unity  or  congruence  of  subject-matter.  Dr. 
Bain  does  not  exaggerate  the  value  of  the  "one  thread  of 
ideas,"  or  the  "one  single  line  of  thought."  His  scruple 
about  foot-notes  even  is  often  justified.  These  more  defi- 
nite rules  will  determine  the  teacher's  general  relations  to 
the  text-book. 

1.  If  the  book  is  the  main  source  of  instruction,  the 
teacher  should  teach  the  book;  that  is,  the  matter  of  the 
book.  If  foot-notes  tend  to  confuse,  what  shall  be  said  of 
a  teacher  who  takes  an  independent  line  from  the  begin- 
ning? No  wise  teacher  certainly  would  give  a  pupil 
who  is  just  beginning,  a  new  subject  two  text-books. 
A  good  Sunday  school-teacher,  dealing  with  the  life  of 
Jesus  in  a  primary  class,  would  not  try  to  follow  all 
the  Gospels,  or  even  two  of  them,  at  the  same  time; 
rather  than  do  that,  it  would  be  better  to  select  his 
material  here  and  there  and  to  blend  it  in  a  new  gospel 
of  his  own.  The  teacher  may  teach  something  more  or 
something  less  than  the  book  teaches  on  a  single  point, 
but  nothing  different  or  contradictory. 

*  Practical  Essays,  pp.  218-219. 


82  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

2.  The  teacher  should  also  follow  the  methods  of  pre- 
sentation that  the  book  emploj's.  Nothing  could  be  more 
absurd  than  for  a  teacher  who  has  assigned  to  a  class  a 
lesson  that  is  presented  inductively  to  go  ahead  and  teach 
it  deductively. 

3.  The  teacher  should  study  to  make  the  first  presenta- 
tion of  a  lesson  successful.  If  a  second  presentation 
is  required,  besides  the  loss  of  time,  the  mind  is  left  in 
a  littered-up  condition  that  is  confusing.  This  is  the  rea- 
son why  it  is  often  more  difi&cult  to  teach  a  subject  well 
to  a  pupil  to  whom  it  has  been  imperfectly  taught  than 
to  a  person  to  whom  it  is  wholly  unknown. 

4.  If  the  subject-matter  of  the  book  or  of  a  single  les- 
son is  radically  bad,  or  the  method  decidedly  faulty,  it 
should  be  laid  aside  altogether.  If  only  certain  portions 
are  objectionable,  or  certain  methods  of  presentation,  the 
teacher  should  not  assign  these  to  be  studied,  but  should 
teach  such  subjects  de  novo.  This  observation  assumes, 
of  course,  that  the  teacher  is  able  to  do  so. 

5.  The  wise  teacher  will  not  present  a  subject  in  more 
than  one  way,  unless  he  has  failed  in  the  first  way.  It 
is  folly  to  give  a  second  explanation  of  the  division  of  a 
fraction  by  a  fraction,  if  the  first  explanation  has  been  un- 
derstood. The  same  remark  will  apply  to  casting  interest 
and  to  many  other  subjects.  It  is  well  enough  for  the 
author  of  an  arithmetic  to  give  two  or  more  methods  of 
performing  these  operations,  thus  giving  the  teacher  an 
option;  but  the  teacher  should  choose  the  method  which 
he  thinks  best  adapted  to  his  purpose,  and  then  adhere  to 
it  until  the  subject  is  thoroughly  taught.  At  the  stage 
of  teaching  now  supposed,  never  give  more  than  one  defi- 
nition or  rule  on  a  single  point.  Superfluous  illustrations 
also  not  only  do  no  good,  but  they  do  positive  harm, 
begetting  confusion  worse  confounded. 


THE    LAWS    OF    MENTAL    CONGRUENCE.  83 

It  will  be  understood  that  these  rules  relative  to  the 
use  of  the  text-book  apply  particularly  to  the  early  stages 
of  teaching,  and  that  they  would  require  very  important 
modifications  if  they  are  to  be  applied  to  the  advanced, 
rational,  or  critical  stage  of  education.  Narrow  teaching 
must  come  before  broad  teaching.  In  time  the  pupil,  if 
rightly  handled,  will  get  out  of  his  single  line  of  thought; 
will  be  able  to  deal  with  subjects;  can  criticize  and  weigh 
different  definitions,  contradictory  views  and  rules,  and 
opposing  opinions;  can  use  a  variety  of  books,  compare 
authorities,  and  employ  different  methods  of  procedure. 
Thus,  Dr.  Bain  recommends  that  in  geometry  the  pupil 
should  be  held  strictly  to  Euclid  until  he  has  become 
thoroughly  at  home  on  the  main  ideas  and  leading  propo- 
sitions; then  he  is  safe  in  dipping  into  other  manuals, 
comparing  differences  of  treatment,  and  widening  his 
knowledge  by  additional  theorems  and  by  various  modes 
of  demonstration.^  But  the  time  when  all  this  can  be 
done  will  not  be  hastened  by  pushing  the  pupil  forward 
prematurely.  The  teacher  who  inundates  the  pupil  with  all 
kinds  of  things  is  the  pupil's  worst  enemy,  unless  indeed 
it  be  the  teacher  who  keeps  him  too  long  and  too  intensely 
harping  on  the  same  string.  It  is  only  the  knowledge 
that  really  energizes  the  mind  which  is  valuable. 

If  it  be  objected  that  these  rules  contemplate  a  text-book 
grind,  two  replies  may  be  made.  It  is  not  attempted  to  sa>- 
how  far  books  should  be  used  in  teaching,  or  to  discuss  the 
relations  of  oral  teaching  and  book  teaching.  The  rules  laid 
down  assume  that  books  will  be  used,  though  not  to  the 
exclusion  of  the  other  method.  Books  have  been  used  in 
schools  since  the  invention  of  writing,  or  at  least  since  the 
invention  of  printing,  and  our  oral  methods  and  real  teach- 
ing will  not  dislodge  them.     But,  further,  much  that  has 

^Practical  Essays,  p.  216. 


84  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

been  said  under  this  head  applies  to  oral  teaching.  The 
teacher  should  not  be  contradictory,  but  consistent;  should 
aim  to  make  the  first  presentation  of  a  subject  successful, 
and  should  adhere  to  a  single  line  of  ideas  until  it  is  fixed  in 
the  mind,  no  matter  whether  he  teaches  orally  or  uses  a 
book.  In  fact,  there  is  the  more  reason  for  emphasizing 
some  of  the  rules  laid  down  in  the  case  of  oral  teaching, 
because  the  pupil  then  has  less  opportunity  to  clarify  his 
mind  by  a  comparison  of  ideas  and  statements. 

At  least  mention  should  be  made  of  examinations,  over 
which  so  fierce  a  contention  has  been  waged  in  recent  years. 
There  is  no  reason  to  hope,  or  to  fear,  that  they  will  pass  out 
of  the  school.  None  are  likely  to  deny  that  examinations 
are  a  very  valuable  teaching  exercise.  Nor  is  there  much 
reason  to  doubt  that  they  will  continue  to  be  used  as  tests 
at  promotion  time — to  a  less  degree  than  twenty  years  ago, 
let  us  hope!  Heretofore  slight  attention  has  been  paid  to 
the  relations  of  studies  in  arranging  programmes  of  ex- 
aminations. The  nearness  or  remoteness  of  studies  from 
one  another  has  been  little  regarded.  At  another  point,  a 
much  more  serious  mistake  has  been  made.  Pupils  have 
sometimes  been  shifted  from  subject  to  subject  so  frequently 
that  they  have  had  little  opportunity  to  show  what  the}' 
could  do;  and  then  again  they  have  been  kept  at  work 
until  both  the  specific  and  the  generic  fatigue-points  have 
been  passed.  The  correction  of  both  evils  must  be  sought 
in  the  laws  of  congruence  and  energy, 

VI.  It  has  already  been  remarked  that  the  laws  of  con- 
gruity  and  energy  bear  on  the  college  or  university 
student's  choice  of  electives.  How  many  subjects  should 
such  a  student  have  at  the  same  time,  and  what  should  be 
their  relations?  Should  he  scatter  his  energies  over  a 
large  field,  or  concentrate  them  on  a  small  one  ? 


THE  LAWS  OF  MENTAL  CONGRUENCE,       85 

Professor  Trowbridge,  discussing  some  j-ears  ago  the 
subject  of  economy  in  college  work,  urged  that  the  Har- 
vard student  should  study  two  subjects  for  at  least  three 
months,  and  two  subjects  onl}';  one  of  these  should  be  a 
hard  subject,  giving  plentj^  of  opportunity  for  applica- 
tion, while  the  other  might  be  a  comparatively  light  sub- 
ject that  could  serve  as  a  mental  rest  through  the  change 
which  it  afforded.  At  the  end  of  three  months  two  other 
subjects  might  be  taken  up,  and  the  first  ones  be  relin- 
quished for  a  time;  and  so  on  to  the  end  of  the  course. 
After  observing  that  some  studies  are  so  nearl}^  related 
that  intellectual  effort  in  one  is  of  service  to  an- 
other, while  others  are  not;  that  Latin  and  Greek,  phil- 
osophy and  histor}^  political  economy  and  history,  are 
examples  of  the  one  class,  while  German  and  French, 
chemistr}'  or  phj'sics  and  philosophy,  are  examples  of  the 
other,  he  examined  the  nineteen  or  twenty  subjects  which 
form  in  the  main  the  elective  curriculum  of  Har\'ard 
University.  He  found  that  the  division  of  subjects  could 
be  reduced  to  twelve  by  grouping  the  subjects  which 
aid  each  other,  as  follows:  Latin  and  Greek;  French  and 
French  history;  German  and  German  history;  politi- 
cal economy  and  history;  chemistry  alone  or  in  conjunction 
with  English;  Spanish  and  Spanish  histor}-;  philosophy 
and  history;  physics  alone;  Semitics  and  ancient  history; 
fine  arts  and  music  with  English,  or  fine  arts  and  music  as 
a  let-up  with  an}-  of  the  severer  studies;  mathematics  and 
English;  romance  philolog}^  and  its  suitable  language. 
Having  twelve  subjects,  the  student  could  pursue  three  of 
these  in  the  nine  months  of  each  college  5'ear,  and  in  four 
3-ears  he  could  accomplish  the  whole  twelve,  provided,  of 
course,  he  wished  to  take  all  the  subjects  enumerated.  ^ 
This  scheme  has  been  introduced  mainly  for  the  sake  of 
»  The  Atlantic  Monthly,  November,  1S88,  pp.GTl,  672. 


86  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

illustration.  In  criticising  it  we  should  remember  that  at 
Harvard  University  all  studies  are  elective,  save  only  a 
modicum  of  English  and  physics.  Still,  it  may  be  said 
that,  although  propounded  for  a  laudable  purpose,  the 
scheme  is  open  to  one  or  more  serious  objections.  Within 
the  successive  three  months'  periods,  study  is  certainly 
over-specialized,  and  particularly  in  the  first  college  years. 
The  common  Freshman  will  not,  and  cannot,  work  up 
his  available  power  in  one  main  line  of  study.  The  laws 
of  mental  energy  are  violated.  The  range  of  interests  is 
too  narrow.  In  the  later  years  of  the  course  this  objec- 
tion would  be  less  serious.  Other  important  questions,  as 
whether  the  time  allotted  would  be  sufficient  for  the  lead- 
ing subjects,  occur^  but  they  need  not  be  considered.  This 
branch  of  the  subject  is  dismissed  with  the  remark  that 
college  electives  call  for  a  fuller  examination  than  the}- 
have  3'et  received,  particularly  in  respect  to  the  principles 
that  should  iniderlie  elections  and  practical  administration. 
There  is  good  reason  to  think  that  in  .some  quarters,  at 
least,  laissez  /aire  has  been  carried  too  far. 

VII.  The  last  topic  to  be  mentioned  is  graduate  study. 
While  there  is  not,  or  at  lea.st  should  not  be,  a  chasm 
between  undergraduate  and  graduate  work,  still  there 
are  palpable  differences  of  ideal  and  method  involved. 
The  first  period  looks  to  general  cultivation;  the  .second 
period,  to  .special  cultivation.  The  undergraduate  need 
not  lay  equal  .stress  upon  all  the  .studies  that  he  pursues: 
he  may  emphasize  some  more  and  some  less;  but  he 
should  not  sacrifice  general  culture  to  Greek  scholarship, 
Latin  .scholarship,  mathematical  scholarship,  or  any  other 
kind  of  .special  scholarship.  The  graduate  student,  on 
the  other  hand,  should  go  much  further  on  the  road  to 
specialization,    and   particularly    the    candidate    for   the 


THE  LAWS  OF  MENTAL  CONGRUENCE.       87 

doctor's  degree.  But  even  here  specialization  may  be 
overdone.  It  is  not  desirable  that  the  student  should 
confine  himself  for  three  years  to  a  special  line  of  stud3\ 
The  first  objection  to  such  a  course  is,  that  it  overgrooves 
the  mind  at  the  age  of  the  ordinary  student  who  is  doing 
such  work.  Even  the  graduate  student  should  not  lose 
sight  of  general  cultivation  and  fall  into  stark  profession- 
alism. But  secondly,  a  single  study  will  not  absorb  to 
advantage  the  student's  powers.  It  will  be  carried  on  in 
derogation  of  the  law  of  specific  and  generic  fatigue.  One 
brain  tract  will  be  overworked  while  others  are  neglected. 
If  the  professional  man  needs  a  let-up,  or  an  avocation,  to 
keep  his  mind  out  of  the  ensnaring  groove,  much  more  the 
student  who  is  still  lingering  in  the  schools. 

Then  how  many  subjects  should  the  graduate  student 
have?  The  answer  will  depend  somewhat  upon  the 
student  himself,  as  well  as  upon  other  considerations.  As 
a  rule,  there  should  be  at  least  two  distinct  lines  of  work, 
one  of  which  may  be  heavy  and  one  light.  The  first 
ma}^  include  different  subjects  chosen  with  reference  to 
congruity,  as  Greek  literature  and  Greek  history,  Latin 
literature  and  Roman  history;  but  there  should  certainly 
be  a  second  distinct  line  of  work,  separate  and  apart  from 
the  first  one,  also  made  up  with  regard  to  congruity, 
that  will  at  once  cultivate  breadth  and  also  consume  time 
and  power  that  the  main  subject  cannot  absorb. 

At  this  point  a  cautionary  remark  ma)'  be  dropped.  It 
is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  subjects  are  congruous 
merely  because  they  bear  the  same  name  in  part.  Con- 
gruity is  determined  by  elements  and  not  by  words.  For 
example,  how  much  have  Greek  literature  and  Greek 
antiquities,  or  Latin  literature  and  Roman  antiquities,  in 
common  ?  Certainly  less  than  some  enthusiastic  scholars 
are  wont  to  assume. 


88  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

Perhaps  it  will  be  said  that  this  report  is  conser\'ative 
on  the  subject  of  specialization.  This  is  no  accident. 
There  is  great  reason  for  reconsidering  the  relations  of 
education  and  erudition.  Professor  Davidson,  of  our 
own  country,  says  it  is  the  failure  to  draw  this  necessary 
distinction  "  that  is  misleading  our  universities  into  the 
error  of  allowing  students  to  '  elect '  specialities  before 
they  have  completed  the  cj-cle  of  education,  the  result  of 
which  is  that  we  have  few  men  of  thorough  education  or 
of  broad  and  comprehensive  views.  If  this  evil  is  ever 
to  be  remedied,"  he  urges,  "our  universities  will  be 
obliged  either  to  abandon  this  practice,  or  else  to  give  up 
all  attempt  to  impart  education,  and  devote  themselves 
solely  to  erudition,  leaving  the  other  to  academies, 
gymnasia,  or  the  like.  "^ 

Professor  Butcher,  contending  for  the  unity  of  learning, 
declares  that  it  is  at  present  endangered  by  disintegrating 
tendencies.  He  alleges  that  excessive  specialization  is 
the  death  of  .science,  and  that  it  involves  the  dissolution 
of  society.  "  Conceive,  if  3'ou  can,"  are  his  words,  "  a 
world  of  specialists,  in  which  each  man' s  vision  and  labor 
is  concentrated  on  some  microscopic  point  in  the  field  of 
human  activity,  and  the  verj^  ider.  of  a  political  and  social 
organism  disappears.  There  is  a  point  at  which  the 
siibdivision  of  labor  in  the  intellectual  sphere  must  be 
checked,  and  some  unifying  principle  introduced,  if  we 
are  to  retain  any  rational  conception  of  man,  or  of  the 
world,  or  of  human  life."' 

Professor  I,aurie,  of  Edinburgh,  also  observes:  "The 
stress  of  competition  among  individuals  and  nations  com- 
pels us,  unhappily,  more  and  more  to  give  a  specific 
character  to  our  training,  and  to  ignore  the  larger  national 

'  The  Education  of  the  Creek  People,  p.  2.'?. 

2  Some  Aspects  of  the  Greek  Goiius,  pp.   200,  210. 


THE  LAWS  OF  MENTAL  CONGRUENCE.       89 

and  hitman  aims.  It  is  clear,  however,  that  in  so  far  as 
we  lose  sight  of  the  latter  in  the  interest  of  the  former  we 
err:  because  it  is  the  broad  hitman  and  national  element 
in  education  that  gives  character  and  power.  If  we  fail 
in  giving  this,  all  specific  activities  of  mind  will  be  weak- 
ened by  the  weakening  of  their  foundation  in  the  man  as 
a  man.  In  the  systematization  of  education  accordingly, 
the  real  problem  amounts  in  these  daj^s  to  this:  How 
shall  we  rear  specific  aptitudes  on  the  basis  of  a  com- 
mon instruction  and  discipline  which  shall  contemplate 
the  man  and  the  citizen,  atid  onh'  in  the  second  place  the 
worker?"^ 

And  finally,  Professor  Paulsen  sounds  a  note  of  warn- 
ing from  the  greatest  of  the  German  universities.  Plead- 
ing for  the  unity  of  the  university,  he  speaks  of  the 
danger  of  disintegration  through  the  diminished  influence 
of  the  faculty  of  arts-  "Of  course,"  hesaj's,  ''there  is  no 
possibility  of  retrogression  in  the  division  of  labor,  upon 
which  depend  the  mighty  advances  of  scientific  research. 
We  are  called  upon,  however,  to  oppose  the  spirit  of 
'specialism,'  of  over-narrow  self-confinement  and  small- 
soitled  satisfaction  with  one's  self:  and  everyone  who 
belongs  to  a  universit}'  is  likewise  called  upon  to  help 
along  the  opposition."  Dr.  Paulsen  suggests  several 
remedies,  the  principal  one  of  which  is  the  maintenance 
of  the  old  conception  of  liberal  culture.  "In  particular, 
the  tendency  toward  generalization  of  study,  the  philo- 
sophical sense  which  ever  stands  ready  to  turn  the  details 
to  good  account  in  the  service  of  the  ultimate  and  highest 
insight,  must  always  find  its  proper  home  in  the  faculty  of 
philosophy.  Herein  may  be  found  a  peculiarly  appro- 
priate field  for  'public'  lectures;  to  present  to  a  wider  circle 
of  hearers,   to  the  disciples   of   all   related  branches  of 

'  Pre-Christian  Education,  Introduction. 


90  STUDIES    IX    EDUCATION. 

learning,  whatever  problems  and  results  of   general  inter- 
est are  included  in  a  special  subject."  ^ 

This  report  has  embraced  so  many  topics  that  its  leading 
purpose  may  possibly  have  become  somewhat  obscured. 
At  all  events,  it  will  be  well  to  restate  that  purpose  in  a 
few  clear  terms.  This  is  to  apply  the  law  of  mental  con- 
gruence, as  limited  by  the  laws  of  mental  energy,  to  some 
important  pedagogical  problems,  as  the  fabrication  of  a 
course  of  study,  the  making  up  of  a  working  programme 
for  a  school,  the  choice  of  college  electives,  and  the  sub- 
ject of  graduate  study.  Congruence  means  the  meeting 
or  bringing  together  of  things  that  are  consonant  or  re- 
lated; and  as  applied  to  the  problems  enumerated  it  looks 
to  the  deepening,  broadening,  and  strengthening  of  study 
and  teaching  by  coordinating  those  studies  and  elements 
of  studies  that  tend  to  support  and  reenforce  one  another. 
Full  discussion  has  not  been  attempted.  It  is  hoped  that 
the  leading  principles  have  been  clearly  and  strongly 
stated,  and  that  they  have  been  so  firmly  applied  to  the 
problems  enumerated  that  the  report  may  prove  useful  as 
a  basis  for  further  study. 

1  The  German  Universities,  p.  2:54.     Translated  by  E.  D.  PerrN-. 


IV. 

THE   SCIENCE   AND   THE  ART   OF 

TEACHING. 

HE  word  ' '  science  ' '  is  derived  from  the  lyatin 
scientia  {scire,  to  hiow),  and  means  knowl- 
edge.     The    word    "  art "  comes  from   the 
'LiOXin  ars  (apei^,  X.o  Jit,  to  join  together),  and 
means  skill,  contrivance,  or  method. 

The  fundamental  difference  between  the  two  is  that  the 
object  of  science  is  knowledge,  while  the  objects  of  art 
are  works.  In  general  the  distinction  is  the  same  as  that 
between  theory  and  practice.  Theory  is  knowledge, 
practice  is  doing.  Both  spring  from  activity,  but  from 
different  kinds  of  activity.  Science,  or  theory,  involves 
primarily  intellectual  activity;  practice,  or  art,  enlists  the 
faculties,  aptitudes,  and  dexterities  of  the  body.  Com- 
monly, however,  the  two  elements  are  more  or  less  inter- 
mingled, as  we  shall  see  hereafter. 

But  while  art  is  primarily  doing  or  skill  in  an  active 
or  practical  form,  it  is  secondarily  a  body  of  rules  intended 
to  direct  or  guide  doing  or  skill.  This  is  an  important 
distinction.  Archbishop  Thomson  says:  "The  distinc- 
tion between  science  and  art  is,  that  a  science  is  a  body  of 
principles  and  deductions  to  explain  the  nature  of  some 
object-matter.  An  art  is  a  body  of  precepts  with  practical 
skill  for  the  completion  of  some  work.  A  science  teaches 
us  to  know,  an  art  to  do."  Both  aspects  of  art  are 
here  recognized,  but  not  in  their  natural  order.  Mr.  J. 
S.  Mill  says:  "Science  and  art  differ  from  one  another 

91 


92  STUDIES   IN   EDUCATION. 

as  the  understanding  differs  from  the  will,  or  as  the  in- 
dicative mood  in  grammar  differs  from  the  imperative. 
The  one  deals  in  facts,  the  other  in  precepts.  Science  is  a 
collection  of  truths;  art  a  bod}-  of  rules  or  directions  for 
conduct.  The  language  of  science  is,  '  This  is,'  or  '  This 
is  not,'  '  This  does  or  does  not  happen.'  The  language  of 
art  is,  'Do  this,'  'Avoid  that.  vScience  takes  cognizance 
of  a  phenomenon,  and  endeavors  to  discern  its  law;  art 
proposes  to  itself  an  end,  and  looks  out  for  means  to 
effect  it.'  "  Nothing  could  be  better  than  this  as  far  as  it 
goes;  but  it  will  be  seen  that  Mr.  Mill  limits  art  to  rules 
and  precepts,  that  is,  to  a  body  of  teaching,  thus  over- 
looking the  purely  practical  element  altogether.  Mr. 
James  Harris  commits  the  same  error.  "Science,"  he 
says,  "gives principles,  art  gives  rules." 

The  two  aspects  of  art  suggest  several  observations. 

1.  Power  or  skill  is  the  fundamental  element,  as  both 
the  etymolog}'  of  the  word  "  art  "  and  an  analy.sis  of  the 
thing  itself  show. 

2.  An  art  may  be  practiced,  and  often  is  practiced,  by 
those  who  have  given  to  the  rules  governing  it  little  atten- 
tion. Such  are  guided  by  what  is  sometimes  called  ' '  the 
rule  of  thumb."  Still  more,  an  art  may  be  carried  on, 
and  commonl}'  is  carried  on  even  by  those  who  have  mas- 
tered the  rules,  without  immediate  or  conscious  reference 
to  them.  The  rules  that  such  persons  practice  have  be- 
come second  nature,  controlling  habit. 

3.  An  art  considered  as  a  collection  of  precepts,  methods, 
or  rules  may  be  studied,  and  frequently  is  studied,  by 
those  who  do  not  expect  to  practice  it  at  all.  This  they 
do  as  a  source  of  mental  improvement  or  enjoyment. 

4.  An  art  as  a  collection  of  precepts  is  knowledge,  but 
it  is  not  scientific  knowledge.     Science  is  concerned  with 


THE    SCIENCE    AND    THE   ART    OF    TEACHING.         93 

facts  and  principles  ending  in  themselves ;  art  with 
methods  or  ways  of  doing  that  end  in  works.  In  science 
truth  is  the  sole  end.  In  art  it  is  a  means  to  an 
end.  However,  if  the  rules  or  methods  are  true  and 
good  they  rest  on  facts  and  principles.  To  say, 
"The  first  reaction  of  the  mind  upon  any  subject  is 
analysis,  the  second  synthesis,"  is  to  utter  a  fact  of 
science.  To  sa)^ "  Present  wholes  before  parts,"  "Bind 
up  parts  into  wholes, "  is  to  utter  rules  of  teaching.  The 
person  who  observes  these  rules  is  so  far  forth  a  good 
practical  teacher,  exemplifying  art  in  its  original  sense. 
"  Repeated  representations  of  an  object  deeply  impress  the 
mind;  "  "  We  know  the  concrete  before  the  abstract,  the 
particular  before  the  general,  the  simple  before  the  com- 
plex,"— these  are  facts  from  which  familiar  pedagogical 
rules  are  deduced.  Still,  it  must  be  remembered  that 
' '  whole  ' '  and  ' '  part ' '  are  relative  words,  and  that  nearly 
all  objects  are  one  or  the  other  according  as  they  are 
viewed.  It  is  not  meant  of  course  that  teaching  should 
begin  with  the  largest  wholes,  as  geography  with  the 
globe.  Again,  it  is  not  alwaj's  thought  necessary  for- 
mally to  express  both  terms  of  this  relation.  The  axiom, 
' '  Repetition  is  the  mother  of  studies, ' '  suggests  the  correl- 
ative rule;  while  the  precept,  "  Proceed  from  the  known 
to  the  unknown,"  suggests  the  correlative  fact.  Nor  are 
the  two  terms  always  clearly  thought  out.  Men  of  science 
go  on  discovering  facts  and  truths  without  thinking  of  rules 
and  methods  that  may  be  deduced  from  them;  just  as 
men  of  practice  keep  following  a  rule  or  a  habit  without 
stopping  to  think  of  its  cause  or  reason.  Moreover,  it  is 
often  more  difficult  to  find  a  practical  application  of  a 
truth  or  fact  than  it  is  to  find  a  scientific  support  for  a 
precept  or  a  method.  It  follows  that  while  science  is 
knowledge,  it  is  not  all  knowledge.     It  is  not  even  all 


94  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

systematized  or  organized  knowledge,  as  the  common 
definition  asserts.  A  rule  or  method  duly  formulated  is 
also  knowledge,  and,  so  far  as  it  goes,  organized  knowl- 
edge as  the  words  themselves  imply. 

Again,  method  is  used  in  a  reflective  or  generalized 
sense.  Methods  involve  certain  general  facts  or  princi- 
ples ;  that  is  to  say,  the}'  rest  at  last  upon  the  human 
mind,  and  so  may  be  subjected  to  scientific  treatment. 
Method,  accordingly,  has  its  two  aspects — one  empirical 
and  one  scientific.  As  a  body  of  rules  propounded 
immediately  to  guide  practice,  method  is  art  pure  and 
simple,  falling  of  course  under  the  second  aspect  of  that 
subject;  as  a  body  of  rules,  the  origin,  nature,  and  author- 
ity of  which  are  to  be  explained,  it  is  science  pure 
and  simple.  Methodology  is  commonly  used  in  the 
second  of  these  senses.  This  the  word  itself  suggests: 
it  is  the  science  of  method.  Descartes' s  celebrated  dis- 
course on  method — the  full  title  of  which  is  ' '  Discourse 
on  the  Method  of  Rightly  Conducting  the  Reason  and 
Seeking  Truth  in  the  Sciences  " — deals  with  the  methods 
of  the  mind.  It  is  a  contribution  to  philosophy,  is  a 
scientific  treatise. 

5.  It  is  not  strange,  therefore,  that  science  and  art 
are  often  made  to  flow  together,  thus  tending  to 
speculative  confusion.  Most  treatises  on  the  theory 
and  practice  of  medicine,  and  on  the  science  and 
the  art  of  teaching,  are  examples.  The  theory  may 
be  put  by  itself  in  the  first  part  of  the  book,  the 
art  by  itself  in  the  second  part;  they  may  be  mingled 
throughout;  but  the  questions,  "Is  the  characteristic 
feature  of  the  matter  knowledge  or  skill  ? "  "  Does 
it  state  a  fact  or  tell  you  what  to  do  ? "  separate 
them  as  a  flash  of  electricity  resolves  a  drop  of  water  into 
its  component  gases.     The  nature  of  science,  the  nature 


THE    SCIENCE    AND    THE    ART    OF    TEACHING.         95 

of  art  as  practical  skill,  and  the  nature  of  art  as  rules  are 
three  different  though  closely  related  ideas.  They  must 
be  clearl}^  grasped  by  the  .sound  thinker:  For  example, 
Cicero  treated  rhetoric  as  a  science  when  he  stated  its 
facts  and  principles;  he  treated  it  as  a  reflective  art  when 
he  laid  down  its  rules  and  methods;  he  practiced  rhetoric 
when  he  made  speeches  in  the  Forum  and  Senate  House, 
and  also,  in  the  modern  sense,  when  he  wrote  his  books, 
no  matter  what  the  subject. 

6.  There  is  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  relation  in 
time  of  science  and  art.     Dr.  McCosh  presents  this  view: 

Art  has  in  general  preceded  science.  There  were  bleaching, 
dyeing,  and  tanning,  and  artificers  in  copper  and  iron  before  there 
■was  chemistry  to  explain  the  processes  used.  Men  made  wine  be- 
fore there  was  any  theor}-  of  fermentation;  and  glass  and  porcelain 
were  manufactured  before  the  nature  of  alkalies  and  earths  had 
been  determined.  The  pj-ramids  of  Nubia  and  Egypt,  the  pal- 
aces and  sculptured  slabs  of  Nineveh,  the  cyclopean  walls  of  Italy 
and  Greece,  the  obelisks  and  temples  of  India,  the  cromlechs  and 
druidicial  circles  of  countries  formerly  Celtic,  all  preceded  the  sci- 
ences of  mechanics  and  architecture.  There  was  music  before  there 
was  a  science  of  acoustics;  and  painting  while  yet  there  was  no 
theory  of  colors  and  perspective.  ^ 

Mr.  Harris  this  view: 

If  there  were  no  theorems  of  science  to  guide  the  operations  of 
art,  there  would  be  no  art;  but  if  there  were  no  operations  of  art, 
there  might  still  be  theorems  of  science.  Therefore  science  is  prior 
to  art. 

Both  of  these  views  are  true  in  part  and  false  in  part. 
Science  is  not  mere  knowledge,  but  organized  knowledge: 
art  not  mere  practice,  but  elaborated  or  refined  practice. 
Science  is  an  advanced  stage  of  knowing,  as  art  is  an  ad- 
vanced stage  of  doing.  Hence  the  question.  Which  is 
older,  science  or  art  ?  is  not  the  same  as  the  question. 
Which  is  older,  knowing  or  doing?  If  the  terms  are 
'  The  Divine  Government,  p.  140,  8th  edition. 


96  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

emploj^ed  in  their  strict  acceptation,  Dr  McCosli  is  right 
in  general  in  respect  to  the  early  stage  of  their  relations, 
while  Mr.  Harris  is  equally  right  in  respect  to  their  late 
stage;  but  if  the  terras  are  taken  In  the  loose  sense  of 
knowledge  and  practice,  then  either  one  is  partly  right 
and  partly  wrong  throughout  the  whole  history  of  human 
development.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  to-day  the  arts 
depend  far  more  upon  the  sciences  than  the  vSciences  upon 
the   arts.     Dr.  Whewell   states   the   true   relation   thus: 

The  principles  which  art  involves,  scieuce  alone  evolves.  The 
truths  on  which  the  success  of  art  depends,  lurk  in  the  artist's 
mind  in  an  undeveloped  state,  guiding  his  hand,  stimulating  his 
invention,  balancing  his  judgment,  but  not  appearing  in  the  form 

of  enunciated  propositions Art  in  its  earlier  stages,  at 

least,  is  widely  different  from  science,  independent  of  it,  and 
anterior  to  it.  At  a  later  period,  no  doubt,  art  may  borrow  aid 
from  science. ' 

To  go  to  the  root  of  the  matter,  we  will  take  up  the 
relations  of  knowing  and  doing  more  carefully. 

Human  acti-  't.es  are  of  two  kinds,  the  .spontaneous  and 
the  volitional,  the  instinctive  and  the  conscious.  The  one 
kind  springs  from  the  automatic  nature,  the  other  from 
the  will.  Spontaneous  activities  antedate  birth,  and  they 
cease  only  with  death.  They  furnish  the  groundwork  of 
all  education.  Leaving  out  of  account  the  organic  func- 
tions, such  as  breathing  and  digestion,  they  bring  the 
child  into  relation  with  the  external  world,  and  .so  fur- 
nish the  beginning  points  of  knowledge.  An  infant's  in- 
stinctive beating  of  the  floor  with  his  feet  or  of  the  crib 
with  his  fi.sts,  his  rolling  of  his  eyes,  and  a  hundred  other 
instinctive  movements  mark  important  stages  in  his  edu- 
cation. It  is  in  such  ways  that  he  progressively  learns 
that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  environment,  something  sep- 

1  Philosophy  0/ Inductive  Science,  Vol.  II,  pp.  Ill,  112,  2d  Edit. 


THE    SCIENCE   AND   THE   ART   OF   TEACHING.         97 

arate  and  apart  from  himself.  Volitional  activities  are 
performed  to  accomplish  an  object,  as  when  a  child  grasps 
a  ball  or  seeks  to  seize  the  flame  of  a  lamp.  The  char- 
acteristic of  all  such  activities  is  aim  or  purpose,  to  develop 
which — that  is,  to  expand  the  factors  of  intelligence  and 
will  in  connection  with  motive — is  the  proper  educational 
function.  It  is  sometimes  difficult  to  assign  an  action  to 
its  class,  as  automatic  or  conscious,  but  that  in  no  way 
affects  the  distinction.  While  the  relation  of  the  two 
activities  is  an  important  subject,  we  are  not  here  con- 
cerned with  it  beyond  the  primary  fact  that  instinct  pre- 
cedes intelligence. 

The  relations  of  doing  and  learning  may  be  thus  summed 
up:  (1)  As  we  have  seen,  some  of  our  instinctive  activi- 
ties lead  directly  to  contact  with  the  external  world,  and 
so  result  in  knowledge  of  that  world  and  of  ourselves.  In 
this  vague  primary  sense  it  may  be  said  that  all  knowl- 
edge is  conditioned  upon  doing.  (2)  Our  natural  activi- 
ties lead  to  artificial  ones,  and  so  to  the  formation  of 
habits  that  lie  proximate  to  knowledge.  Such  an  activity 
as  walking,  for  example,  enlarges  one's  knowledge  of  the 
material  world.  (3)  Then  there  are  the  accidents  that 
lead  to  discovery,  as  when  the  Indian  hunter,  climbing 
up  the  mountain  side,  laid  hold  of  the  bush  to  sustain  his 
weight,  and,  when  it  came  away,  saw  the  silver  lying  at  its 
roots.  (4)  Next  may  be  mentioned  those  experiments 
that  are  tried  to  find  out  something,  without  any  definite 
idea  or  expectation  of  what  it  will  be.  (5)  Practice 
tends  to  perfect  knowledge  that  originates  in  all  these 
ways.  As  Bacon  sa^-s  studies  ' '  perfect  nature,  and  are 
perfected  by  experience;  for  natural  abilities  are  like 
natural  plants  that  need  pruning  by  study:  and  studies 
themselves  do  give  forth  directions  too  much  at  large,  ex- 
cept they  be  bounded  in  by  experience. ' ' 


98  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

Important  as  are  the  causal  effects  of  practice  upon 
knowledge,  it  is  easy  to  exaggerate  them.  Whenever  an 
idea,  a  thought,  a  datum  of  intelligence,  leadsto  activity  the 
order  is  reversed.  It  is  just  as  certain  that  all  the  pur- 
posive or  intentional  activities  follow  knowledge  as  that 
all  the  instinctive  activities  precede  it;  the  knowledge 
may  be  rudimentary  and  imperfect,  but  it  is  there.  It  is 
very  true  that  there  were  bleaching,  d}'eing,  tanning,  and 
wine-making  before  men  studied  chemistry  or  discovered 
a  theory  of  fermentation;  but  it  is  not  true  that  men 
bleached  and  tanned,  and  made  wine  before  the}'  had  ideas 
of  the  things  which  they  wanted  to  do  and  of  the  ways  in 
which  they  should  do  them.  No  doubt  nature  first  taught 
men  these  processes  through  observation;  but  men  car- 
ried them  on  with  purpose  from  the  very  beginning,  save 
as  they  have  been  slightly  affected  by  accident.  Once  en- 
tered upon,  the  process  of  activity  contributed  to  the 
enlargement  of  knowledge.  The  arts  of  teaching,  preach- 
ing, and  healing  are  older  than  the  corresponding  the- 
ories. At  the  same  time  there  was  no  teaching,  preaching, 
or  healing  until  those  engaging  in  those  activities  had 
ideas  both  of  ends  and  of  means.  The  arts  and  the  theo- 
ries have  grown  up  together. 

The  internal  relations  of  the  two  factors,  it  is  hoped, 
have  been  made  plain.  The  sciences  find  their  applica- 
tions and  uses  in  the  arts,  the  arts  find  their  causes  and 
reasons  in  the  sciences.  The  reciprocal  relations  of  the 
two  factors  have  not  been  better  stated  than  by  Sir  Wil- 
liam Hamilton  in  this  passage: 

The  terms  "  theory  "  aud  "theoretical"  are  properly  used  in 
opposition  to  the  terms  "  practice  "  and  "practical  ";  in  this  sense 
they  were  exclusively  employed  by  the  ancients;  and  in  this  sense 
they  are  almost  exclusively  employed  by  the  Continental  philoso- 
phers. Practice  is  the  exercise  of  an  art,  or  the  application  of  a 
science,    in   life,  which  application  is  itself  an  art,  for  it  is  not 


THE    SCIEXCE    AND    THE    ART    OF    TEACHING.         99 

everyone  who  is  able  to  apply  all  he  knows;  there  being  required, 
over  and  above  knowledge,  a  certain  dexterity  and  skill.  Theory, 
on  the  contrary,  is  mere  knowledge  or  science.  There  is  a  dis- 
tinction, but  no  opposition,  between  theory  and  practice;  each  to 
a  certain  extent  supposes  the  other.  On  the  one  hand,  theory  is 
dependent  on  practice;  practice  must  have  preceded  theory;  for 
theory  being  only  a  generalization  of  the  principles  on  which  prac- 
tice proceeds,  these  must  originally  have  been  taken  out  of,  or  ab- 
stracted from,  practice.  On  the  other  hand,  this  is  true  only  to  a 
certain  extent;  for  there  is  no  practice  without  a  theory.  The  man 
of  practice  must  have  always  known  something,  however  little,  of 
what  he  did,  of  what  he  intended  to  do,  and  of  the  means  by  which 
hisintention  was  to  be  carried  into  effect.  He  was,  therefore,  not 
wholly  ignorant  of  the  principles  of  his  procedure;  he  was  a  lim- 
ited, he  was,  in  some  degree,  an  unconscious,  theorist.  As  he 
proceeded,  however,  in  his  practice,  and  reflected  on  his  perform- 
ance, his  theory  acquired  greater  clearness  and  extension,  so  that 
he  became  at  last  distinctly  conscious  of  what  he  did,  and  could 
give,  to  himself  and  others,  an  account  of  his  procedure. 
Per  vaHos  usus  artetn  expericntia  fecit, 
Exeniplo  tnonstrante  viam. 
In  this  view,  theory  is  therefore  simply  a  knowledge  of  the 
principles  by  which  practice  accomplishes  its  end.  ^ 

The  Greeks  and  the  Romans  did  not  distinguish  be- 
tween the  arts  and  the  sciences  just  as  we  are  accustomed 
to  do.  The  Greek  Tex»"),  which  we  render  art,  and  from 
which  we  get  "technic,"  "technical,"  etc.,  while  it  is 
defined  "skill,"  "craft,"  "aptitude,"  in  the  lexicons, 
nearly  corresponded  with  our  science:  German  scholars 
have  rendered  it  Wissenschaft.  The  Latin  lexicons  define 
scientia  "knowledge,"  "science."  and  "skill;"  they  define 
ars, ' '  skill, ' '  '  'practice, ' '  and  "knowledge;"  but,  .strangely 
enough,  measured  by  our  use  of  terms,  the  Romans  called 
what  we  call  the  .sciences  arfes  and  not  scientiae.  Broadly, 
however,  the  Roman  arts,  in  a  pedagogical  .sense,  were 
studia,   and  our  word    "studies"    renders    artes    much 

1  Metaphysics,  Lecture  X. 


lOO  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

better  than  ' '  sciences  "  or  "  arts. ' '  Some  of  the  Latin 
arts  were  arts  and  some  sciences,  as  we  should  call  them. 
The  Seven  Liberal  Arts  of  the  Medieval  schools  were  an 
outgrowth  of  the  Graeco- Roman  education.^     They  were: 

TheTRiviUM:   Grammar,  dialectics,  and  rhetoric. 

The  Quadrivium:  Music,  arithmetic,  geometry,  and 
astronomy. 

Gram,  loqiiihir;  Dia.  vera  docet;  Rhet.  verba  colorat; 

Mils,  canit ;  Ar.  numeral;  Geo.  pouderat ;  Ast.  colit 
astra. 

Our  distinction  of  the  arts  and  .sciences  had  not  been 
clearly  thought  out  when  all  these  studies  were  called 
' '  arts, ' '  and  in  our  sense  of  the  word  they  might  have 
been  more  fitly  called  "sciences."  The  terms  "art," 
' '  the  arts, "  "  mechanic  arts, "  "  industrial  arts, "  "  prac- 
tical arts,"  "fine  arts,"  "polite  arts,"  and  "arts"  in 
' '  arts  and  sciences ' '  are  rather  applications  of  knowl- 
edge than  knowledge  itself;  but  the  phrases  "  bachelor  of 
arts, "  "  master  of  arts, ' '  and  ' '  the  counse  in  arts  ' '  still 
retain  the  ancient  meaning  of  the  word. 

The  theoretical  relations  of  .science  and  art  have  now 
been  treated,  it  is  believed,  with  .sufficient  fulness.  In- 
cidentally, also,  the  question.  Of  what  value  is  the  study 
of  a  science  to  the  man  who  practices  the  corresponding 
art  ? — has  been  touched.  But  that  question  should  receive 
fuller  treatment.  The  question  is  this:  What  reasons  can 
be  given  why  the  man  of  practice  .should  study  the  prin- 
ciples on  which  his  art  depends? 

Dr.  Campbell,  discussing  this  question,  says  the  art  of 
living  is  built  upon  theology  and  ethics,  or  religion  and 
morals;  the  art  of  survej'ing  and   accounting  on  mathe- 

*  See  Davidson:  Aristotle  and  the  Ancient  Educational  Ideals, 
p.  239,  et.  Seqq. 


THE    SCIENCE    AND    THE    ART    OF    TEACHING.      lOI 

matics;  architecture  and  navigation  on  mathematics, 
natural  philosphy,  and  geography;  surgery  on  anatomy. 
He  conckides,  on  the  one  hand,  that  valuable  knowledge 
always  leads  to  more  practical  skill  and  is  perfected  in  it; 
on  the  other  hand,  that  practical  skill  loses  much  of  its 
beauty  and  extensive  utility  which  does  not  originate  in 
knowledge.  Accordingly,  he  likens  the  relation  of  science 
and  art  to  the  relation  existing  between  the  parent  and 
the  child.  ^  But  Dr.  Campbell  would  include  the  reflective 
side  of  art  in  science.  However,  he  well  illustrates  the 
common  mode  of  arguing  on  the  question. 

In  his  essay  on  Lord  Bacon,  Lord  Macaulay  handles 
the  question  in  this  vigorous  fashion: 

We  conceive  that  the  inductive  process,  like  many  other  pro- 
cesses, is  not  likely  to  be  better  performed  merely  because  men 
know  how  they  perform  it.  William  Tell  would  not  have  been 
one  whit  more  likely  to  cleave  the  apple  if  he  had  known  that  his 
arrow  would  describe  a  parabola  under  the  influence  of  the  attrac- 
tion of  the  earth.  Captain  Barclay  would  not  have  been  more 
likely  to  walk  a  thousand  miles  in  a  thousand  hours,  if  he  had 
known  the  name  and  place  of  every  muscle  in  his  legs.  Monsieur 
Jourdaiu  probably  did  not  pronounce  D  and  F  more  correctly 
after  he  had  been  apprised  that  D  is  pronounced  by  touching  the 
teeth  with  the  end  of  the  tongue,  and  F  by  putting  the  upper  teeth 
on  the  lower  lip.  We  cannot  perceive  that  the  study  of  grammar 
makes  the  smallest  difference  in  the  speech  of  people  who  have 
always  lived  in  good  societ}'.  Not  one  Londoner  in  ten  thousand 
can  lay  down  the  rules  for  the  proper  use  ofwt'/l  and  shall,  yet  not 
one  Londoner  in  a  million  ever  misplaces  his  will  and  shall. 
Dr.  Robertson  could  undoubtedly  have  written  a  luminous 
dissertation  on  the  use  of  those  words.  Yet  even  in  his  latest 
work  he  sometimes  displaced  them  ludicrously.  No  man  uses 
figures  of  speech  with  more  propriety  because  he  knows  that 
one  figure  is  called  a  metonymy  and  another  a  synecdoche.  A 
drayman,  in  a  passion,  calls  out,  "You  are  a  pretty  fellow,"  with- 
out suspecting  that  he  is  uttering  irony,  and  that  irony  is  one  of 

*  Philosophy  of  Rhetoric. — Introduction. 


I02  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

the  four  primary  tropes.  The  old  systems  of  rhetoric  were  never 
regarded  by  the  most  experienced  and  discerning  judges  as  of  any 
use  for  the  purpose  of  forming  an  orator.  Egohanc  vim  intelligo, 
said  Cicero,  esse  in  prcsceptis  omnibus,  non  ut  ea  secuti  oratores 
eloquenticB  laudeni  sint  adepti,  sed  qua;  sua  sponte  homines  elo- 
quenies  facerent,  ea  quosdani  observasse,  atque  id  egisse,  sic  esse 
non  eloquentiani  ex  artificio,  sed  artificiiini  ex  eloquentia  natuin. 
We  must  own  that  we  entertain  the  same  opinion  concerning  the 
study  of  logic  which  Cicero  entertained  concerning  the  study  of 
Rhetoric.  A  man  of  sense  syllogises  in  celarent  and  cesare  all  day 
long  without  suspecting  it;  and,  though  he  may  not  know  what 
an  ignoratio  elenchi  is,  has  no  difficulty  in  exposing  it  whenever 
he  falls  in  with  it;  which  is  likely  to  be  as  often  as  he  falls  in  with 
a  Reverend  Master  of  Arts  nourished  on  mode  and  figure  in  the 
cloisters  of  Oxford.  Considered  merely  as  an  intellectual  feat, 
the  Organum  of  Aristotle  can  scarcely  be  admired  too  highly. 
But  the  more  we  compare  individual  with  individual,  school  with 
school,  nation  with  nation,  generation  with  generation,  the  more 
we  lean  to  the  opinion  that  the  knowledge  of  the  theory  of  logic 
has  no  tendency  whatever  to  make  men  good  reasoners. 

Like  Macaulay's  other  exaggerations,  this  one  contains 
much  truth.  He  is  wholly  right  as  to  Tell  and  Barclay, 
and  partly  so  as  to  Jourdain;  but  such  analogies  are 
too  mechanical  to  apply  closely  to  mental  operations. 
As  to  grammar,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  first,  that 
the  fundamental  law  of  language  is  use  and  wont;  or, 
secondly,  that  the  reflective  study  of  language  corrects 
errors  and  tends  to  form  a  second  language  nature. 
As  to  logic,  it  is  nonsense,  as  he  says  in  the  context, 
to  suppose  that  Aristotle  or  Bacon  thought  that  he 
was  doing  an3'thing  more  than  to  generalize  the  mental 
processes  with  which  he  dealt,  and  to  lay  down  rules  for 
conducting  them.  How  far  these  generalizations  are 
true,  and  how  far  these  rules  are  helpful,  are  perfectly 
fair  questions.  Men  learn  to  reason  by  reasoning,  and 
real  logic  is  therefore  a  far  more  valuable  exerci.se  than 
formal  logic;  but  to  say  that  study  of  the  theory  of  reason- 


THE    SCIENCE    AND    THE    ART   OF    TEACHING.      103 

ing  is  useless  is  to  commit  the  same  mistake  that  Macaulay 
falls  into  in  regard  to  grammar  and  rhetoric.  J.  S.  Mill, 
a  much  more  competent  witness  on  such  a  subject,  de- 
clares that  to  nothing  was  he  more  indebted  for  his  power 
to  think  than  to  the  very  thorough  instruction  in  the 
school  logic  that  he  received  from  his  father.  ' '  The  first 
intellectual  operation  in  which  I  arrived  at  any  pro- 
ficiency," he  says,  "  was  dissecting  a  bad  argument,  and 
finding  in  what  part  the  fallacy  lay:  and  though  what- 
ever capacity  of  this  sort  I  attained,  was  due  to  the  fact 
that  it  was  an  intellectual  exercise  in  which  I  was 
most  perseveringly  drilled  by  my  father,  yet  it  is  also  true 
that  the  school  logic,  and  the  mental  habits  acquired  in 
studying  it,  were  among  the  principal  instruments  of  this 
drilling. ' '  ^  Many  a  man  has  dated  a  new  mental  era  from 
the  time  that  he  took  up  the  theories  of  thought,  of 
expression,  and  of  conduct. 

But  the  passage  quoted  involved  assumptions  that 
are  only  half  true.  We  will  narrow  the  ground:  Why 
should  a  teacher  bother  his  head  with  the  phj'siological 
and  psychological  facts  that  underlie  education?  In  effect 
this  question  has  been  answered  already,  but  it  will  be 
well  to  present  the  answer  more  sharply. 

1,  The  student-teacher  will  reap  the  usual  disciplinary 
and  cultural  benefits  that  follow  the  study  of  science. 
These  benefits  will  be  all  the  greater  because  the  subject 
of  study  relates  to  the  daily  work  in  which  the  student  is 
engaged.  The  subject  of  study  is  not  distant  and  ab- 
stract, but  near  and  concrete.  Theory  is  purged  by 
experience;  experience  is  illuminated  by  theory.  He  is 
a  poor  workman  indeed,  and  particularly  a  teacher, 
that  has  no  interest  in  the  rationale  of  his  work.  The 
teacher,  and,  through   the  teacher,    the   pupil,   gets  the 

1  Autobiography ,  p.  19. 


I04  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

benefit  of  a  stronger  and  fuller  mind.  There  may 
be  cases  where  scientific  studies  lead  to  the  poorer 
practice  of  an  art,  owing  to  the  practitioner's  absorp- 
tion in  knowledge  as  such,  but  experience  shows  that 
these  are  exceptional  cases,  the  rule  being  just  the 
other  way. 

2.  The  teacher  enjoj'^s  that  power  of  revision  and  pre- 
vision which  onl}'  deep  knowledge  of  his  work  can  give, 
and  that  satisfaction  which  can  follow  only  from  working 
in  the  open  field  in  the  light  of  day.  Experience  has  con- 
firmed, time  and  again,  what  theory  suggests — that  the 
practice  which  is  guided  solely  by  habit  and  routine  con- 
stantly tends  to  narrowness  and  mechanism.  It  also  con- 
firms the  suggestion  that  the  onh'  way  to  correct  this 
tendency  when  formed,  or  to  prevent  its  formation,  is  to 
vitalize  practice  by  uniting  it  with  knowledge.  It  is  per- 
haps true  that  to  the  common  mind  nothing  seems  less 
vital  than  theoretical  knowledge;  but  if  so  it  is  due,  at 
least  in  great  part,  to  the  unfortunate  confounding  of 
theory  with  conjecture  or  h^-pothesis.  The  Greek  con- 
ception of  theory  is  the  true  one.  seopia  means  the  in- 
tellectual view  of  a  subject,  and  deep  insight  into  its 
nature;  hence,  to  adjust  practice  to  theor}'  is  to  adjust  it 
to  the  facts  of  the  case,  and  to  urge  that  science  should 
guide  practice  is  much  the  same  thing  as  urging  that 
practice  should  be  intelligent. 

3.  While  the  principles  of  science  are  few  and  may  be 
studied  exhaustively,  the  problems  and  cases  of  the  art 
are  inexhaustible-  An  engineer  may  grasp  the  princi- 
ples on  which  the  building  of  bridges  depends,  but  he 
can  never  anticipate  all  their  applications.  He  had 
better  therefore  master  his  science  rather  than  .seek  to 
accumulate  a  great  stock  of  pictures,  models,  and  draw- 
ings of  bridges,  valuable  as  these  are  in  their  proper  place. 


THE    SCIENCE    AND    THE    ART    OF    TEACHING.      IO5 

4.  The  study  of  teaching  as  an  art  also  is  sometimes 
denounced  as  useless  But  it  cannot  be  denied  that,  to 
teach,  a  man  must  have  an  idea  of  what  teaching  is,  and 
some  idea  of  how  to  do  it;  and  this  is  knowledge.  Even 
M,  Jourdain,  Macaulay  to  the  contrary,  may  well  have 
received  instructions  in  the  handling  of  his  organs  of 
speech. 

We  live  in  an  age  of  methods.  '  'Tell  us  how  to  do  it, " 
"Give  us  something  that  we  can  carry  into  the  school- 
room, ' '  is  the  cry  of  thousands  of  teachers.  Educational 
journals,  and  even  pedagogical  books,  are  crammed  with 
devices  and  tricks  that  are  elevated  to  the  dignity  of 
methods.  Hence  it  should  be  said,  first,  that  a  method 
is  good  only  in  so  far  as  it  leads  quickly  and  easily  to  the 
chosen  end;  and,  secondly,  that  it  leads  to  such  an  end  so 
far,  and  so  far  only,  as  it  embodies  a  valuable  idea  or 
thought.  That  is  a  weak  mind  which,  once  in  the 
possession  of  a  principle,  cannot,  at  least  when  reinforced 
by  moderate  experience,  handle  applications  as  the}'  pre- 
sent themselves. 

Doubtless  it  would  be  too  much  to  say  that  the  man 
who  knows  most  of  the  science  of  painting  or  sculpture 
will  paint  the  best  pictures  or  make  the  finest  statues. 
Theoretical  knowledge  cannot  take  the  place  of  technical 
skill;  notwithstanding,  the  great  artists  have  all  had  a 
profound  insight  into  the  principles  underlying  their 
work.  The  teacher  will  fi.nd  a  firm  hold  of  the  principle 
of  imitation  a  much  better  preparation,  in  the  long  run, 
for  teaching  the  language  arts  than  the  painful  turning  of 
the  crank  of  routine  or  grinding  in  the  mill  of  formal 
precepts. 

The  self-assumed  superiority  of  the  so-called  '  'practical 
man"  over  him  whom  he  scornfulh-  calls  "the  bookman," 


I06  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

consists  largely  in  his  freedom  from  all  theories.  The  fun- 
mental  mistake  involved  in  this  assumption  consists  in 
confounding  theory  with  conjecture  or  assumption.  A 
theory  is  merely  a  view  of  certain  facts,  and  if  it  is 
bad  it  is  because  it  does  violence  to  the  facts  through 
omission  or  otherwise.  For  one  to  proclaim  himself  with- 
out theories  is  to  proclaim  himself  without  ideas.  Theories 
precede  all  actions  that  spring  from  purpose.  A  cook 
cannot  make  a  biscuit,  or  a  blacksmith  vShoe  a  horse, 
without  a  theory;  and  if,  perchance,  the  wrong  theory 
is  followed  the  results  are  disastrous,  as  when  the 
smith  attempts  to  shoe  an  ox  as  he  would  shoe  a  horse. 
The  fact  is,  that  no  man  is  without  his  theories.  The  late 
Professor  Bonamy  Price,  of  Oxford,  after  observing  that 
"men  at  all  times  have  occupied  themselves  with  the 
creation  of  wealth  according  to  certain  rules  and  ideas, ' ' 
very  pertinently  remarks: 

No  laborious  employment  can  be  extensively  carried  on  with- 
out the  existence  of  some  notions  as  to  the  right  way  of  working, 
and  the  most  fitting  methods  for  attaining  the  end  desired.  It  is 
a  mistake,  though  a  very  common  one,  to  suppose  that  practical 
men,  as  they  are  called,  are  destitute  of  theory.  The  exact  re- 
verse of  this  statement  is  true.  Practical  men  swarm  with 
theories,  none  more  so.  They  abound  in  views,  in  ideas,  in  rules, 
which  they  endow  with  the  pompous  authority  of  experience; 
and  when  new  principles  are  proposed,  none  are  so  quick  as  prac- 
tical men  to  overwhelm  the  innovator  with  an  array  of  the  wisdom 
which  is  to  be  found  in  prevalent  practice. 

The  difference  between  men  is  not  that  some  have 
theories  while  others  have  none,  but  that  they  differ  in 
the  .source  and  nature  of  their  theories,  as  Professor  Price 
goes  on  to  show. 

The  difference  which  .separates  the  man  of  science  from  the 
man  of  practice  docs  not  consist  in  the  presence  of  general  views 
and  ideas  on  one  side,  and  their  absence  on  the  other.     Both  have 


THE    SCIENCE    AND    THE    ART    OF    TEACHING.      I07 

views  and  ideas.  The  distinction  lies  in  the  method  by  which 
those  views  have  been  reached,  in  the  breadth  and  completeness 
of  the  investigation  pursued,  in  the  rigorous  questioning  of  facts, 
and  the  careful  digestion  of  the  instruction  they  contain,  in  the 
coordination  and  the  logical  cohesion  of  the  truths  established.* 

The  practice  of  medicine  furnishes  a  good  illustration. 
The  theories  of  the  quack  grow  out  of  his  own 
experience  and  are  limited  by  it;  the  theories  of  the 
physician  rest  upon  the  research  of  the  medical  world. 

There  has  been  much  difference  of  opinion  as  to  method 
and  the  study  of  method.  Talleyrand  declared  methods 
to  be  masters'  masters,  ' '  The  true  instruments  of  the 
.sciences,  they  are  to  teachers  themselves  what  teachers 
are  to  their  pupils. ' '  Pestalozzi,  who  never  did  anything 
methodically,  made  the  method  everything,  the  teacher 
nothing.  He  even  affirmed  that  a  text-book  had  no  value 
except  .so  far  as  it  could  be  employed  by  a  teacher  without 
instruction,  as  well  as  by  one  with  instruction.  M.  Com- 
payre  quotes  the  proverb,  "As  is  the  master  so  is  the 
method, ' '  as  expressing  the  true  view. 

Three  questions  present  themselves  to  every  intelligent 
teacher.  What?  How?  Why?  The  first  comprehends 
the  method  to  be  taught;  the  second  the  method  to  be 
followed;  the  third  the  cause  or  the  reason  why  this  method 
should  be  followed.  These  questions  are  closel}^  con- 
nected, but  they  are  here  given  in  their  natural  order.  The 
what  and  the  how  must  join  hands  in  the  best  teaching. 
In  elementary  schools,  method  is  especiall}'  important  be- 
cause pupils  have  small  power  to  arrange  or  organize  mat- 
ter for  themselves.  In  colleges  and  universities,  learned 
scholars  may  be  found  who  are  wasting  their  own  time  and 
their  pupils'  time  because  they  do  not  know  how  to  teach. 
It  is  never  a  good  sign  therefore  to  hear  a  teacher  .sneer- 

1  Principles  of  Curyency,  Lecture  I. 


I08  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

ing  at  methods.  As  Bacon  said:  "A  lame  man  on  a 
straight  road  reaches  his  destination  sooner  than  a  courier 
who  misses  his  way. ' ' 

It  is  sometimes  said  that  persons  who  have  studied 
teaching  professionally  often  fail  as  teachers,  while  others 
who  have  not  so  studied  it  often  succeed.  While  we  must 
admit  the  facts  to  be  as  stated,  we  should  be  careful  not  to 
draw  from  them  wrong  conclusions.  Some  persons  lack 
native  aptitude  to  teach,  just  as  some  others  lack  aptitude 
to  practice  medicine  or  the  law.  Besides,  professional 
study  may  run  on  wrong  lines.  Other  persons  are  rich  in 
teaching  capacity,  and,  supplementing  their  defective  train- 
ing by  private  study,  they  succeed.  Moreover,  nothing 
can  take  the  place  of  actual  practice  in  the  schoolroom. 

Defined  absolutely,  there  are  three  kinds  of  teachers. 
The  mechanical  teacher  knows  nothing  of  the  philosophy 
of  education;  he  has  never  studied  either  the  human  mind 
or  educational  values;  he  takes  everything  on  authority, 
and  is  the  slave  of  tradition,  routine,  and  habit.  The  em- 
pirical teacher  has  a  .somewhat  broader  range;  still  he  has 
no  grasp  of  educational  .science  or  history,  and  is  limited 
by  his  own  observation  and  experience.  The  philosophi- 
cal teacher  is  guided  by  the  broad  facts  and  laws  of  edu- 
cational science;  he  is  more  or  le.ss  versed  in  the  theory 
and  history  of  education;  but  all  his  scientific  and  his- 
torical knowledge  has  been  vitalized  and  illuminated  by 
his  own  experience.  All  good  teaching  grows  out  of  good 
pedagogical  ideas,  from  whatever  source  they  may  be  de- 
rived. 

Still  another  topic  to  be  treated  is  the  order  in 
which  the  two  leading  courses  in  pedagog}'  should  be 
taken.  Which  should  come  first,  the  .science  or  the  art 
of  teaching  ?     Facts  and  principles  or  rules  and  methods  ? 


THE    SCIENCE    AND   THE    ART   OF   TEACHING.      I09 

Something  can  be  said  in  favor  of  either  mode  of  pro- 
cedure. 

It  may  be  said  that  since  principles  are  the  causes  of 
methods,  and  since  we  cannot  intelligently  study  modes 
of  doing  things  unless  we  understand  the  things  to  be 
done,  the  natural  order  is  from  principles  to  methods. 
And  from  the  standpoint  of  pure  theory  this  reasoning  is 
unanswerable.  It  would  be  hard  to  find  a  book  that  reverses 
the  order.  On  the  other  hand  it  may  be  said  that  general 
ideas  are  deduced  from  practice;  that  art  is  older  than  sci- 
ence; that  it  is  a  great  advantage  to  one  studying  the  science 
of  teaching  to  have  had  some  previous  practical  knowledge 
of  it,  and  that  therefore  the  practical  course  should  come 
before  the  theoretical.  And  this  reasoning  seems  as  con- 
clusive as  the  other. 

Both  of  these  views,  when  stated  in  this  exclusive  way, 
are  too  narrow.  We  will  suppose  that  a  student  who  has 
had  no  experience  whatever  as  a  teacher  first  takes  up 
the  course  in  theory.  But  this  student  has  been  a  pupil  in 
the  school;  or  at  least  has  studied,  and  has  had  a  teacher; 
he  has  perhaps  read  or  heard  more  or  less  about  teaching, 
so  that  he  has  a  certain  acquaintance  with  the  practical 
elements  of  the  subject;  or  he  has,  at  least,  a  daily  exem- 
plification of  the  rules  of  teaching  before  him  in  the  work 
he  is  now  doing.  And  still  further,  the  teacher  whose 
lectures  on  the  theory  of  teaching  he  hears,  or  the  author 
whose  books  he  reads,  constantly  enforces  the  principles 
that  he  presents  with  illustrations  drawn  from  the  art  of 
teaching.  Or,  on  the  other  hand,  we  will  suppose  that  a  stu- 
dent first  takes  up  the  practical  course.  He  has,  however, 
been  a  member  of  a  school;  at  least  belongs  to  one  now, 
and  can  hardly  have  failed  to  reflect  somewhat  on  the 
art  that  he  has  seen  practiced;  he  has  probably  seen  or 
heard  some  discussions  of  educational  doctrine;  or,  these 


no  STUDIES   IN   EDUCATION. 

two  suppositions  failing,  his  teacher  of  method  is  con- 
stantly enforcing  the  methods  and  rules  that  he  recom- 
mends with  arguments  drawn  from  the  theory  of  teach- 
ing. 

It  is  therefore  manifest  that  the  theory  and  the  art  of 
teaching  cannot  be  absolutely  separated ;  that  they  over- 
lap to  some  degree;  and  that  the  professor,  in  presenting 
the  one  course,  lays  the  emphasis  on  theory,  while  in  the 
other  he  la3\s  it  on  practice.  The  fact  is  that  the  science 
and  the  art  of  teaching,  like  many  other  sciences,  have 
grown  up  together.  The  all-important  thing  is  that  the 
mutual  dependence  of  theory  and  method  shall  be  under- 
stood, and  that  the  student,  if  he  begins  with  principles, 
shall  carry  them  out  into  practical  rules  of  teaching;  or, 
if  he  begins  with  methods,  shall  thoroughly  ground  them 
in  educational  doctrine.  In  the  later  stages  the  question 
of  order  is  more  important  than  in  the  first  .stages.  Here 
science  should  ordinarily  precede  art.  In  general,  it  may 
be  said,  that  the  man  who  coined  the  traditional  phrase, 
"Theory  and  Practice,"  put  the  two  elements  in  the 
proper  order.  He  would  have  made  a  mistake  if  he  had 
said  "  Practice  and  Theory." 

Finall}-,  what  has  been  said  as  to  the  relation  of  the 
courses  in  the  science  and  the  art  of  teaching  involves  a 
moot  question  that  should  receive  a  word  or  two  of  com- 
ment. This  question  relates  to  the  value  of  the  .so-called 
model  or  practice  work  in  connection  with  the  study  of 
pedagogical  theory  and  formal  art. 

It  would  be  wa.ste  of  words  to  emphasize  in  general  the 
value  of  a  practical  acquaintance  with  the  elements  of  an 
art  to  a  person  who  is  engaged  in  its  stud}^  and  particu- 
larly if  he  looks  forward  to  its  practice.  No  matter  how 
pain-staking  the  teacher  may  be — no  matter  how  carefully 


THE    SCIENCE"   AmT^TilE^  ARY  OF    TEACHING.       Ill 

he  may  illustrate  his  ideas  and  lessons — there  is  stilt  a 
certain  abstractness  or  remoteness  from  reality,  unless  the 
pupil  has  tried,  or  is  permitted  to  try,  his  own  hand,  or 
at  least  to  observe  the  activities  in  question.  This  is,  no 
doubt,  true  of  teaching  as  of  the  arts  generally;  and  this 
is  the  reason  why  model  or  practice  departments  are 
found  so  commonly  in  normal  schools.  The  admitted 
evils  that  such  schools  often  engender,  as  method-grinding 
and  self-complacency  in  the  pupils,  need  not  here  be  dwelt 
upon;  nor  will  the  proper  organization  and  control  of  such 
schools  be  made  the  subject  of  remark.  The  only  point 
that  needs  to  be  made  is  this,  that  it  is  easy  to  exaggerate 
the  value  of  such  practical  elements  as  can  be  obtained  in 
a  practice  school  under  the  ordinary  conditions,  and  also 
easy  to  expend  unnecessary  commiseration  upon  the 
pedagogical  pupil  who  does  not  enjoy  such  advantages. 
As  urged  above,  every  student  of  teaching,  no  matter 
whether  he  has  taught  or  not,  has  been  at  .school;  he  has 
been  a  pupil,  has  mingled  with  pupils,  and  is  a  pupil  now; 
he  has  had  teachers  and  now  has  one  or  more.  In  these  ways 
he  has  accumulated  a  fund  of  practical  knowledge  that  will 
go  a  considerable  distance,  although  by  no  means  the 
whole  way,  towards  compensating  him  for  his  lack  of 
practical  experience,  past  or  present.  INIore  than  this — 
he  is  constantly  surrounded  by  minds  old  and  young;  the 
commerce  of  life  compels  him  more  or  less  to  observe  the 
workings  of  these  minds,  and,  what  is  still  more  to  the 
purpose,  he  has  a  mind  himself  which  serves  him  as  a 
pedagogical  laboratory  in  the  same  way  that  it  serves  him 
as  a  psjxhological  laboratory.  He  is  by  no  means  with- 
out an  illuminating  knowledge  of  the  matters  with  which 
he  is  dealing.  In  fact,  it  is  his  own  personal  experience 
of  such  matters  that  is  to  interpret  for  him  through  apper- 
ception  his   observations  of   the  minds  of   others.      Ac- 


112  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

cordingly,  to  call  a  practice  school  a  "laboratory"  in  any 
scientific  sense  of  that  term,  or  to  say  that  children  stand 
to  teaching  pedagogy  in  the  same  relation  that  plants 
stand  to  the  teaching  of  botany,  is  to  fall  into  a  mis- 
take that  is  now  unhappily  not  uncommon.  This  mistake 
is  to  overstrain  an  analogy,  and  to  do  violence  to  facts. 


V. 

CALVINISM"  AND   " AVERAGIJSTG "  IN 
EDUCATION/ 

HEN  the  call  to  this  meeting  reached  me,  I 
was  watching  the  ripples  in  the  educational 
journals  caused  by  one  of  the   boldest  and 

frankest  educational  utterances  that  I  have 

read  for  many  a  day,  viz.:  the  short  address  made  by 
President  Eliot,  of  Harvard  University,  at  the  annual 
dinner  of  the  Schoolmasters'  Club  of  Boston,  at  the  end 
of  October;  and  it  occurred  to  me  that  I  might  render 
you  a  small  service  by  making  it  the  subject  of  my  own 
discourse.  President  Eliot's  abilities,  position,  policy, 
and  courage  of  his  opinions  always  give  importance  to 
what  he  saj'S  on  educational  matters.  Perhaps  I  have 
not  made  the  happiest  selection  of  a  theme;  but  3'ou  will 
at  least  remember  that  in  the  commonwealth  of  American 
education  we  have  no  tribunal,  as  a  bench  of  judges,  to 
pass  authoritatively  on  questions;  no  digests  of  opinions 
or  reports  of  cases  that  settle  causes  and  prevent  further 
argument.  On  the  contrary,  causes  are  always  open  to 
him  who  chooses  to  argue  them.  No  doubt  we  make 
foolish  experiments  in  consequence;  but  these  are  not  so 
costly  in  the  end  as  it  would  be  to  close  causes  to  discus- 
sion, and  to  settle  questions  by  referring  them  to  registered 
wisdom.     IVIoreover,  the  spirit  of  our  large  educational 

1  An  Address  delivered  before  the  Michigan  State  Teachers' 
Association,  Lansing,  December,  1885. 

113 


114  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

gatherings  is  so  catholic,  and  the  range  of  abiUty,  culture, 
and  experience  represented  in  them  so  considerable,  that 
almost  any  topic,  even  if  it  touches  education  only  in- 
directly, is  pretty  sure  to  awaken  interest  if  fairly  well 
presented. 

The  character  of  President  Eliot's  thinking  on  educa- 
tion, and  the  policy  that  he  has  pursued  at  Harvard,  are 
so  well  understood  that,  in  the  beginning,  I  need  only  say 
this  in  general — each  distinct  point  in  his  address  is  an 
outcropping  of  his  favorite  principles  of  election  and  com- 
prehension. In  discussing  these  points,  I  shall  often  pass 
beyond  the  limits  of  what  he  has  said,  to  consider  related 
questions.  This  is  the  paragraph  in  which  he  states 
and  combats  what  he  calls  the  "  Calvinistic  theory"  of 
education: 

At  a  meeting  of  teachers  which  I  attended  last  week,  a  dis- 
tinguished man  burst  out  with  a  completely  irrelevant  statement 
that  nothing  was  good  for  training  that  was  not  hard.  Now,  I 
want  to  say  that  the  view  which  ascribes  usefulness  to  mental 
exercise  only  when  it  is  repulsive  and  distasteful  to  the  scholar, 
needing  a  dead- lift  of  the  will,  is  to  my  thinking  the  absolute 
opposite  of  the  truth  with  regard  to  mental  training.  No  subject 
is  good  for  the  training  of  a  child  four  years  old,  or  twelve,  or 
eighteen,  in  which  the  child  or  youth  is  not  capable  of  achieving 
something,  capable  even  of  decided  success,  and  of  winning  that 
enjoyment  and  satisfaction  which  come  with  achievement  and 
success.  If  we  would  divide  subjects  into  profital)le  and  unprofit- 
able we  must,  I  believe,  always  put  iu  the  profitable  class  those 
subjects  which  the  boy  enjoys,  and  in  the  unprofitable  clacs  those 
subjects  for  which  he  has  no  capacit}-  and  in  pursuit  of  which  he 
gets  no  enjoyment.  A  subject  is  good  for  a  child  precisely  in  pro- 
portion to  his  liking  for  it,  or  in  other  words  to  his  taste  and 
capacity  for  it.  ^ 

1  The  extracts  are  made  from  an  article  by  President  Eliot  in 
The  Popular  Educator,  November,  1885.  This  article  and  the 
after-dinner  speech  were  the  same  in  substance. 


"CALVINISM"  AND  "AVERAGING"  IN  EDUCATION.     II5 

At  the  outset  we  should  boldly  mark  one  capital  dis- 
tinction that  much  current  writing  and  talking  on  educa- 
tional and  kindred  topics  tend  to  confuse,  viz. :  Work  is 
not  play.  Ingenious  essayists  and  lecturers  sometimes 
almost  delude  us  into  believing,  at  least  for  the  moment, 
that  they  are,  or  may  be  made,  the  same  thing.  They 
both  involve  activity,  work  commonly  more  than  play; 
but  they  differ  in  the  ends  to  which  the  activity  is  di- 
rected and  in  the  mental  attitude  of  those  who  put  it 
forth.  Work  is  an  act  or  a  series  of  acts  in  the  line  of 
one's  occupation  or  duty;  play  is  resting  from  such  acts. 
The  synonyms  of  the  one  word  are  "labor,"  "toil," 
"employment;"  of  the  other,  "pleasure,"  "amuse- 
ment," "diversion."  Work  is  girding  up  the  powers 
for  serious  effort;  play  is  their  relaxation,  at  least  their 
diversion  from  ordinary  pursuits.  Aristotle  says  there  must 
be  business  for  the  sake  of  leisure.*  Both  work  and  play 
appear  in  a  well-ordered  life;  both  have  disciplinary 
value;  both  are  related,  though  in  quite  different  ways, 
to  education,  but  neither  one  can  be  made  to  answer  the 
purposes  of  the  other. 

In  educating  children  the  attempt  has  sometimes  been 
made  to  put  work  in  the  place  of  play,  and  sometimes 
the  attempt  to  put  play  in  the  place  of  work;  and  it 
would  be  hard  to  say  which  has  led  to  the  greater  failure. 
The  first  attempt  is  the  blunder  of  practical  teachers  only ; 
the  second  is  the  blunder  both  of  teachers  and  of  writers 
on  educational  theory.  So  sober  a  man  as  John  Locke 
not  onl}^  proposed  to  combine  instruction  and  sport,  but 
said  nothing  like  work  should  be  laid  on  children;  the 
great  use  and  skill  of  a  teacher  in  the  case  of  small  chil- 
dren being,  he  affirmed,  to  make  all  as  easy  as  he  can.^ 

1  The  Politics,  vii.  14,  13.     Translated  by  Jowett. 
'See  Thoughts Coticerning  Education,  \  129,  148-155. 


Il6  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

No  doubt  play  comes  before  work  in  the  order  of  de- 
velopment; no  doubt  children  learn  many  useful 
things  in  their  sports;  no  doubt  the  kindergarten  has  a 
message  for  the  primary  teacher:  but  failure  will  in  the 
end  attend  every  attempt  to  make  the  schoolroom  a  play- 
room and  the  course  of  study  a  series  of  games.  Even 
in  a  school  where  the  aim  is  to  teach  only  through  amuse- 
ments, children  divide  the  exercises  set  for  them  into  two 
classes,  making  work  of  some  and  plaj'  of  others.^  More- 
over, if  it  were  possible  to  clothe  all  work  in  the  habit  of 
play,  it  would  not  answer  the  ends  of  complete  discipline. 
John  Ma3mard  did  not  think  it  play  when,  in  smoke  and 
flame,  he  stood  at  his  wheel  until  burnt  to  a  crisp.  The 
sentry  does  not  think  it  pla}'  as,  in  cold  and  storm,  he 
paces  his  weary  beat  at  midnight,  keeping  watch  over  the 
sleeping  army  that  has  been  given  to  him  in  trust.  The 
nurse  who,  in  hospital  or  home,  watches  alone  over  her 
feverish  and  delirious  patient  in  the  small  hours,  does  not 
think  it  play.  Nor,  again,  doesthe  pilot,  the  sentry,  or  the 
nurse  acquire  his  fortitude  and  devotion  in  spinning  tops, 
flying  kites,  or  playing  lawn-tennis.  To  be  sure  tops  and 
kites  and  tennis  have  their  place,  but  the  ability  to  gird 
up  the  powers  of  the  body  and  the  mind  for  supreme  ef- 
forts, or  even  for  common  efforts,  comes  from  a  different 
regimen.  It  was  in  a  thorough  school  that  St.  Paul  learned 
to  say,  "  For  necessit)^  is  laid  upon  me." 

It  may  be  replied  that  men  sometimes  find  their  play- 
spells  in  severe  exertion  of  a  particular  kind,  as  solving 
problems  in  mathematics  or  physics.  Such  declarations 
are  often  to  be  understood  rhetorically.  Still  it  must  be 
said  that  long  application  to  given  things  may  produce  a 

1  "The  plays  of  children  should  not  be  systematized;  they  should 
give  the  individual  an  opportunity  for  the  distinct  development  of 
faculty." — Radestock:  Habit  in  Education, 


"CALVINISM"  AND  "AVERAGING"  IN  EDUCATION,     II7 

second  nature  that  speaks  a  different  voice  from  the  first 
nature.  Work  may  become  a  disease.  L,ord  Chief  Justice 
Ellenborough  sat  on  the  bench  until  he  said  the  greatest 
pleasure  of  his  life  was  to  hear  Follett,  then  a  young  bar- 
rister, argue  a  point  of  law.  Again,  great  interest  in  a 
subject,  and  great  enthusia.sm  in  its  pursuit,  make  it 
attractive  and  pleasant.  We  read  that  "Jacob  served 
seven  j^ears  for  Rachel  and  they  seemed  to  him  but  a  few 
days,  for  the  love  he  had  to  her."  But  plain,  unso- 
phisticated common  sense  holds  work  and  play  antithetical. 
Even  so  devoted  and  resolute  a  lover  as  Jacob  would  have 
preferred  to  win  his  bride  in  an  easier  way  than  serving 
seven  years  as  a  herdsman. 

Now,  I  do  charge  President  Eliot  with  confusing  work 
and  play.  Such  confusion  is  not  necessarily  involved  in 
an5'thing  that  he  says;  but  so  much  such  confusion  exists, 
that  a  bold  delineation  of  the  two  kingdoms  seemed  a 
proper  prelude  to  taking  up  his  real  point. 

The  President  tells  us  that  studies  should  be  made  in- 
teresting and  eas3^;  school,  pleasant  and  attractive.  This 
is  indeed  very  valuable  advice.  The  unpleasant  associa- 
tions that  still  cling  around  the  words  "pedagogue"  and 
"master"  are  sur\'ivals  of  that  period  in  educational 
history  when  it  was  common  to  make  school  studies  ex- 
ceedingly hard,  school  discipline  exceedingly  severe,  and 
school  life  exceedingly  forbidding.  The  Calvinistic  theory 
was  then  in  its  glory.  Wliat  is  left  of  this  regimen  is  now 
passing  away  so  rapidly  that  we  need  to  give  much  more 
attention  to  what  is  taking  its  place  than  we  do  to  hasten- 
ing its  passage. 

The  child  has  a  spontaneous  nature  that  should  be 
harnessed  to  studies  and  to  the  whole  work  of  life.  Auto- 
matic attention  is  that  state  of  the  mind  in  which  its  energy 
is  given  to  a  thing  from  some  native  affinity  or  attraction; 


Il8  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

volitional  attention,  that  state  in  which  its  energy  is  given 
by  an  act  of  choice.  The  development  of  volitional  atten- 
tion is  one  of  the  highest  aims  of  discipline.  Now,  in 
training  the  child  the  spontaneous  attention  must  be 
rallied  to  the  support  of  the  volitional,  which  is  weak  or 
rather  does  not  at  first  exist  at  all;  but  as  time  goes  on  the 
volitional  attention  should  grow  and  become  more  and  more 
independent  of  the  spontaneous.  Humor  has  been  likened 
to  the  lever  by  means  of  which  we  raise  great  weights 
with  a  small  force.  lyOve  and  enthusiasm  are  also  power- 
ful motors.  There  is  a  large  suggestion  for  the  teacher 
in  the  fact  that  a  little  boy  who  complains  bitterly  of  the 
weariness  of  walking  will,  when  put  astride  of  his  grand- 
father's cane,  and  told  that  it  is  a  horse,  scamper  away 
forgetful  of  his  own  bitter  complaints.  But  somewhat  of 
life  consists  in  walking  when  one  is  weary,  and  no  boy  is 
fitted  for  life  who  cannot  walk.  The  child  should  indeed 
be  led  to  the  hard  by  the  way  of  the  easy;  but  the  man 
has  no  real  training  or  character  who  cannot,  on  due 
occasion,  collect  his  powers  to  do  a  multitude  of  things 
that  he  considers  hard  and  disagreeable.  The  spontane- 
ous powers  keep  us  alive  in  infancy,  and  death  comes 
when  they  wholly  fail  us;  but  the  highest  end  of  educa- 
tion is  the  fullest  development  of  the  judgment,  the  moral 
sense,  and  the  will.  Hitch  the  spontaneous  forces  to 
your  wagon  by  all  means;  but  if  3'ou  have  no  other  horses, 
do  not  be  surprised  when  you  find  that  you  drive  an  un- 
certain team. 

Drawing  nearer  to  President  Eliot,  it  is  not  true  that 
nothing  is  good  for  training  unless  it  is  hard;  but  it  is 
true  that  no  training  is  complete  which  does  not  involve 
much  severe  and  vigorous  labor.  It  is  not  true  that  mental 
exercise  is  useful  only  when  it  is  repulsive  and  distasteful, 


"  CALVINISM  "  AND  "  AVERAGING  "  IN  EDUCATION.     I  T9 

needing  a  dead-lift  of  the  will;  but  it  is  true  that  a  good 
man}^  such  lifts  have  to  be  made,  and  that  the  child  must 
be  got  ready  for  them  by  lifting.  It  is  true  that  no  sub- 
ject is  good  for  training  in  which  the  child  is  not 
capable  of  achieving  something,  and  of  enjoying  the 
achievement;  but  it  is  not  true  that  a  subject  is  always 
good  for  him  in  the  long  run  in  proportion  to  his  present 
capacit}^  and  liking  for  it.  Sometimes  it  is  the  case  that 
a  child,  or  older  pupil,  who  has  small  capacity  for  a  sub- 
ject, and  finds  little  pleasure  in  its  pursuit,  develops, 
through  application  and  study,  great  capacity  and  pleas- 
ure. After  they  have  passed  the  rudiments  of  learning, 
children  should  not  be  kept  long  at  subjects  for  which, 
under  skillful  teaching,  they  have  a  positive  aversion; 
nor,  on  the  other  hand,  should  the  choice  of  their  studies 
be  left  to  their  caprices  and  whims.  Things  should  not 
be  made  hard  that  are  by  nature  easy.  There  is  no  reason 
in  blocking  the  way  to  grammatical  analysis  with  a  cart- 
load of  nomenclature;  or  in  weighing  down  the  solution 
of  a  simple  example  in  arithmetic  with  a  ponderous 
formula.  There  is  no  excuse  for  retaining  in  text-books 
the  artificial  distinctions  and  antiquated  methods  often 
found  in  them.  Arithmetics,  for  example,  should  not  be 
museums  for  hanging  up  on  exhibition  "applications" 
that  have  disappeared  from  business,  if  indeed  they  were 
ever  known  there.  But  there  is  a  difference  between  real 
life  and  training  after  all.  In  real  life  it  is  best  to  accom- 
plish results  with  the  smallest  expenditure  of  power  and  in 
the  quickest  way  consistent  with  thoroughness;  but  in  the 
nursery  and  the  school  this  is  not  always  the  case.  The 
child  that  can  be  carried  quickly  and  easily  across  the 
room,  must  learn  to  walk  across  it.  Pupils  must  learn 
algebraic  methods  by  first  solving  problems  that  they  can 
more  easily  solve  by  arithmetical  methods.     Astronomers 


I20  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION, 

do  not  now,  like  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  use  the  Greek 
geometry  in  making  their  computations;^  but  the  math- 
ematical student  needs  the  discipline  and  logical  forms  of 
the  Greek  geometry  nevertheless.  Moreover,  we  only 
destroy  the  child  morally  by  keeping  him  forever  shut  up 
in  a  glass  case;  we  should  rather  equip  him  with  sound 
principles,  good  habits,  healthful  appetites  and  desires, 
pure  affections,  and  right  purposes,  and  then  allow  him 
to  be  subjected  to  trial  and  testing.  Further,  trial  and 
testing  are  essential  to  the  production  of  that  ver}'  equip- 
ment. In  a  word,  my  W'hole  contention  is  that  the  child 
must  be  brought,  progressively  of  course,  to  measure  his 
full  powers  with  the  labors  and  difficulties  of  life. 

My  reason  for  dwelling  so  long  on  this  point  is  my  con- 
viction that  nowhere  along  the  long  line  of  educational 
discussion  is  there  greater  need  of  clear  ideas.  We  forget 
sometimes  that  the  end  of  teaching  is  not  to  place  certain 
information  in  the  mind  of  the  pupil  in  the  easiest  way, 
but  rather  to  see  that  it  is  retained  and  assimilated,  and 
that  the  mind  and  character  are  strengthened  by  the 
process.  Partly  in  this  forgetfulness,  and  partly  in  our 
haste  to  hurry  children  along,  lies  the  explanation  of  some 
of  the  characteristic  features  of  our  schools.  Books  are 
not  taken  away  from  children,  but  they  are  not  given  the 
chance  that  they  need  to  study  them;  while  teachers,  with 
their  "new  educations,"  "  natural  methods,"  and  "  oral 

1  "Speaking  of  the  ancient  geometry  used  by  Newton,  Dr.  Whe- 
well  has  said:  'The  ponderous  instrument  of  synthesis,  so  eflfective 
in  his  hands,  has  never  since  been  grasped  by  anj-  one  who  could 
use  it  for  such  purposes;  and  we  gaze  at  it  with  admiring  curi- 
osity, as  on  some  gigantic  implement  of  war  which  stands  idle 
among  the  meniorials'of  ancient  days,  and  makes  us  wonder  what 
manner  of  man  he  was  who  could  wield  as  a  weapon  what  we  can 
hardly  lift  as  a  burden.'  " — Draper:  Intellectual  Development  oj 
Europe,     p.  .'529. 


"CALVINISM"  AND  "AVERAGING"  IN  EDUCATION.     121 

instruction,"  fill  the  children  up  with  knowledge  and  at 
the  same  time  destroy  mental  character.  Perhaps  I  should 
remark  that  this  is  true  onl}'  in  a  relative  sense.  It  is 
quite  generally  asserted  by  high  school  teachers  who  have 
had  a  lengthened  experience,  for  example,  that  their  pupils 
are  not  the  independent  workers  that  they  were  fifteen  or 
twenty  years  ago.  An  old  lad}'  familiarly  called  "Grand- 
ma ' '  was  a  patient  in  a  hospital  for  the  insane  over  which 
a  friend  of  mine  presided  as  superintendent.  She  reso- 
lutely refused  to  swallow  food,  and  for  two  full  years  fed 
herself  only  once  in  the  natural  way.  She  would  place 
the  feeding  pipe  in  her  throat,  and  hold  the  bowl  of  milk  or 
broth  in  her  hands,  while  the  attendant  threw  the  liquid 
into  her  stomach  with  a  pump.  One  day  the  doctor  said: 
"Grandma,  don't  you  think  it  would  be  better  if  j'ou 
would  eat  this  food  yourself?"  "  Oh,  no,"  she  answered, 
"this  is  so  much  easier!"  With  all  his  mistakes  in 
educational  matters,  John  Stuart  Mill  certainly  understood 
the  great  educational  transition  of  his  times  when  he  wrote: 

I  do  not  believe  that  boys  can  be  induced  to  apply  themselves 
with  vigor,  and  what  is  so  much  more  difficult,  perseverance,  to 
dry  and  irksome  studies,  by  the  sole  force  of  persuasion  and  soft 
words.  Much  must  be  done,  and  much  must  be  learned,  by  chil- 
dren, for  which  rigid  discipline,  and  known  liability  to  punish- 
ment, are  indispensable  as  means.  It  is,  no  doubt,  a  very  lauda- 
ble effort  in  modern  teaching,  to  render  as  much  as  possible  of 
what  the  young  are  required  to  learn,  easy  and  interesting  to  them. 
But  when  this  principle  is  pushed  to  the  length  of  not  requiring 
them  to  learn  anything  btU  what  has  been  made  easy  and  interest- 
ing, one  of  the  chief  objects  of  education  is  sacrificed.  I  rejoice 
in  the  decline  of  the  old  brutal  and  tyrannical  system  of  teach- 
ing, which,  however,  did  succeed  in  enforcing  habits  of  applica- 
tion; but  the  new,  as  it  seems  to  me,  is  training  up  a  race 
of  men  who  will  be  incapable  of  doing  anything  which  is  dis- 
agreeable to  them. '  

*  Autobiography,  pp.  52-53. 


122  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

Mr.  Mill  even  said:  "A  pupil  from  whom  nothing  is 
ever  demanded  which  he  cannot  do,  never  does  all  he  can. ' ' 

In  his  second  paragraph  President  Eliot  gives  his  views 
of  another  division  of  the  subject: 

This  idea,  I  know,  if  carried  out  thoroughly,  runs  directl)' 
counter  to  another  very  common  idea — namely,  that  there  is  a 
considerable  number  of  subjects  which  everybody  ought  to  know. 
Now,  the  longer  I  live,  the  greater  experience  and  wider  observa- 
tion I  have,  the  more  I  settle  to  the  conviction  that  there  is  no  one 
thing  that  a  liberally  educated  man  mtist  know.  In  arithmetic, 
for  example,  what  stumbling  blocks  to  children  are  least  common 
multiple  and  greatest  common  divisor;  but  we  have  all  discovered 
that  common  people  have  no  use  for  either  of  these  matters.  And 
so  on  throughout  much  of  school  education.  It  is  not  at  all  nec- 
essary for  everybody  to  know  what  air  is  made  of,  where  the  River 
Charles  rises,  how  the  pump  draws  water,  or  the  names  of  the 
stars,  or  of  any  of  the  kings  of  Egypt.  Not  one  of  these  things  is 
in  the  slightest  degree  essential  to  a  liberal  education.  Hence  the 
notion  that  there  is  a  certain  number  of  subjects  which  everybody 
should  know,  ought  never  to  be  allowed  to  interfere  with  or  coun- 
teract the  general  principle  that  the  best  training  for  every  indi- 
vidual lies  in  the  pursuit  of  those  subjects  for  which  he  is  best  fitted 
and  which  he  enjoys. 

Unfortunatel}',  this  language  is  not  as  clear  as  could  be 
desired.  In  one  sentence  the  President  denies  "that 
there  is  a  considerable  number  of  subjects  which  every- 
body ought  to  know,"  thereby  apparently  admitting  by 
implication  that  there  are  some  such  subjects;  and  in  the 
next  sentence  he  affirms  * '  that  there  is  no  one  thing  that 
a  liberally  educated  man  viicst  know."  The  denial  and 
the  admission  can  be  harmonized  only  by  holding  that 
the  terra  "  thing  "  applies  to  a  single  fact  or  object,  and 
is  not  the  same  as  a  "  subject  "  or  branch  of  knowledge. 
But  we  are  cut  off  from  making  this  distinction  by  the 
last  .sentence,  where  what  has  been  affirmed  of  "  thing  " 


"CALVINISM"  AND  "  AVERAGINT,  "  IN  EDUCATION.     123 

is  affirmed  of  ' '  subject. ' '  Apparently,  then,  the  Presi- 
dent of  Harvard  desires  us  to  understand  him  in  the  most 
absolute  sense ;  there  is  no  one  thing  or  subject  which  a  lib- 
erally educated  man  need  know.  This  is  a  surrender  of 
the  three  R's,  unless  we  are  to  suppose  that  these  are  in- 
struments or  methods  for  learning  things  and  subjects, 
and  not  such  themselves. 

One's  view  of  the  whole  paragraph  will  depend  some- 
what upon  the  sense  that  he  attaches  to  the  expression 
"  a  liberally  educated  man,"  a  topic  that  I  set  aside  for 
the  present.  No  one  can  fairly  claim  that  such  a  man 
must  know  the  elements  of  the  air,  the  source  of 
Charles  River,  the  action  of  a  pump,  the  names  of  the 
stars,  or  the  names  of  the  kings  of  Egypt.  But  the  real 
question  is  this:  What  is  a  liberally  educated  man's 
relation  to  the  great  departments  of  knowledge  to  which 
these  facts  belong — to  chemistry,  geography,  ph3^sics, 
astronom}',  and  history?  Admit,  for  the  sake  of  argument, 
' '  that  the  best  training  for  every  individual  lies  in  the 
pursuit  of  those  subjects  for  which  he  is  best  fitted," 
provided  we  can  only  find  that  out ;  but  since  it  is  a  fact 
that  special  talents  do  not  ordinarily  declare  themselves 
at  the  age  of  ten  or  twelve  years,  how  are  we  going  to 
make  that  discovery  ?  The  boy  of  those  ages  is  quite 
apt  to  have  a  stock  of  whims  and  notions  of  his  own; 
moreover,  what  he  enjoys  depends  largely  upon  his 
associations  and  habits;  and  we  cannot  relegate  his  studies 
to  the  court  of  notion  and  enjoyment. 

So  much  for  Calvinism.  Let  us  now  hear  the  President 
on  averaging  and  uniformit)'. 

There  is  another  principle  which  we  should  bear  in  mind, 
though  it  runs  counter  to  generally  accepted  ideas,  viz:  That 
uniformity  in  intellectual  training  is  never  to  be  regarded  as  an 


124  STUDIES   IN   EDUCATION. 

advantage,  but  as  an  evil  from  which  we  cannot  completely 
escape.  We  have  lately  heard  a  great  deal  about  "  keeping  step  " 
as  a  valuable  part  of  public-school  training;  but  I  do  not  know  a 
more  unfortunate  figure  to  use  with  regard  to  education.  Even 
in  military  movements,  if  troops  want  to  get  anywhere  they 
never  keep  step.  A  large  school  is  almost  necessarily  a  kind  of 
averaging  machine.  But  we  should  always  bear  in  mind  that 
though  this  averaging  may  be  in  some  measure  necessary,  it  is  a 
necessarj'evil.  All  should  admit  that  it  would  be  an  ineflFable  loss 
to  mankind  if  the  few  great  men  were  averaged  with  the  millions 
of  common  people, — if  by  the  averaging  process  the  world  had 
lost  such  men  as  Faraday  and  Agassiz,  Hamilton  and  Webster, 
Gladstone  and  Cavour.  But  do  we  equally  well  understand  that 
when  ten  bright,  promising  children  are  averaged  with  ninety 
slow,  inert,  ordinary  children,  a  very  serious  loss  is  inflicted,  not 
only  upon  those  ten,  but  upon  the  community  in  which  the  one 
hundred  children  are  to  grow  up  ?  There  is  a  serious  and  prob- 
ably an  irreparable  loss  caused  by  the  averaging  of  the  ten  with 
the  ninety  children.  Thererore  I  say  that  uniformity  in  education 
all  along  the  line  is  an  evil  which  we  should  always  be  endeavor- 
ing to  counteract,  by  picking  out  the  brighter  and  better  children, 
and  helping  them  on  by  every  means  in  our  power. 

No  other  paragraph  in  the  address  is  so  exasperating 
to  pubUc-school  teachers  as  this  one,  and  no  other  is  so 
deserving  of  their  attention,  Pittting  aside  our  resent- 
ment at  being  talked  to  in  this  manner,  we  should  candidh' 
inquire  what  there  is  in  this  matter  of  uniformity'  and 
averaging. 

In  a  sense  a  large  public  school  is  "a  kind  of  averaging 
machine. ' '  But  the  world  is  full  of  such  machines,  and 
we  need  not  be  over-afraid  of  them.  A  national  literature, 
no  matter  how  rich  and  varied,  is  an  averaging  machine. 
It  tends  to  produce  a  certain  mental  homogeneit}',  a  certain 
type  of  culture  that  is  more  or  less  distinct  from  all  other 
cultures.  The  American  is  not  reared  on  the  literature 
of  Italy  or  Persia,  and  would  not  be  an  American  if  he 
were.     The  Christian  Church,  in  the  broadest  historical 


"CALVINISM"  AND  "AVERAGING"  IN  EDUCATION.     1 25 

sense,  is  an  averaging  machine;  and  so,  in  a  much  closer 
sense,  are  the  state  churches  of  Europe  and  the  Christian 
denominations  of  America.  One  does  not  need  to  be  a 
theologian  to  trace  the  line  of  delimitation  separating  the 
Christian  Church  from  all  other  churches,  as  the  Jewish, 
the  Mohammedan,  or  the  Buddhist.  The  Christian 
denominations  rest  upon  certain  doctrinal  uniformities 
and  certain  spiritual  cultures,  which  uniformities  and 
cultures  they  tend  powerfully  to  perpetuate.  Non- 
conformity is  the  loose-fitting  name  of  a  multitude  of 
British  sects;  but  it  nevertheless  marks  off  some  very 
definite  beliefs  or  non-beliefs  which  those  sects  hold  in 
common.  Colleges  and  universities  are  averaging 
machines;  their  function  being  to  provide  society  with 
liberally  educated  men,  who  have  something  in  common 
even  when  the  name  is  held  in  a  sense  loose  enough  to  please 
President  Eliot.  Republican  government  and  absolute 
monarchy  are  averaging  machines,  each  tending  to  pro- 
duce its  own  tj^pe  of  citizen  or  subject.  Nay,  civil  society 
itself,  the  very  civilization  of  which  we  boast,  is  an 
averaging  machine;  it  is  plainly  divided  from  barbarous 
or  savage  society,  and  tends  to  certain  uniform  results. 
Certainly  in  this  broad  sense,  large  public  schools,  and 
small  public  schools,  and  schools  of  all  kinds  are  averag- 
ing machines.  Moreover,  they  should  be  such  ma- 
chines. The  name  may  offend  us  by  its  suggestion 
of  mechanical  rather  than  vital  or  organic  processes, 
but  we  need  not  hesitate  to  admit  the  fact.  Hence 
if  President  Eliot  speaks  absolutely  when  he  says 
that  uniformity  in  intellectual  training  is  never  an 
advantage,  and  that  averaging  is  a  necessary  evil,  I  can- 
not agree  with  him.  Probably,  however,  he  does  not 
speak  in  that  way.  So  far,  then,  there  is  no  room  for 
a  quarrel. 


126  STUDIES   IN    EDUCATION. 

But  this  is  neither  the  kind  of  averaging  nor  the  kind 
of  iiniforniit}'-  that  President  Eliot  means.  He  has  in  his 
mind  a  process  that  ignores  the  individuality  of  children, 
kills  originalit}^,  rounding  off  the  sharp  knobs  of  genius 
and  character,  and  thereby  accomplishes  two  things — 
turning  out  a  type  of  tamely  uniform  men  and  women, 
and  losing  to  the  world  its  Faradays  and  Agassizes,  its 
Hamiltons  and  vVebsters,  its  Gladstones  and  Cavours.  I 
do  not  share  the  fear  that  there  is  great  danger  of  the 
potential  great  men  of  the  future  being  spoiled  in  this 
way,  but  there  is  such  a  thing  as  over-averaging.  Mr. 
Bagehot  said  civilization  consists  of  two  elements,  custom 
and  change,  legality  and  progress.  ' '  I^aw,  rigid,  defi- 
nite, concise  law,  is  the  primary  want  of  early  mankind." 
This  is  the  "cake  of  custom,"  or  "the  preser\'ative 
habit,"  with  which  civil  society  everywhere  begins. 
Then  come  progress  and  variety;  "getting  out  of  a 
fixed  law,"  "  breaking  the  cake  of  custom,"  "breaking 
through  the  preservative  habit  and  reaching  something 
better. ' '  ^  Both  theory  and  historj^  prove  that  the  second 
of  these  .steps  is  much  the  more  difficult  of  the  two.  Asia 
is  full  of  arrested  civilizations.  Witness  China,  which 
once  had  a  promising  civilization,  but  which  for  thou- 
sands of  3-ears  has  stood  vStill,  wholly  unable  to  break  the 
tough  cake  of  custom  that  antiquity  baked.  The  aver- 
aging machine  has  there  done  its  perfect  work.  We  talk 
of  the  "average  American,"  having  in  mind  a  certain 
vague  type  of  man,  and  not  venturing  to  name  as  such 
any  individual  in  the  throng  who  jostle  us  on  the  street; 
but  in  Pekin,  if  I  understand  the  matter  rightly,  you  can 
safely  point  to  almost  any  passer-by  with  the  words, 
"That  is  the  average  Chinaman."  Once  more,  there 
may  be  a  valuable  suggestion  in  the  fact  that  the  Chinese 

*  Physics  and  Politics,  jip.  2\,  27,  53. 


"CALVINISM"  AND  "AVERAGING"  IN  EDUCATION.     127 

averaging  machine  is  in  the  hands  of  the  schoolmaster; 
in  no  other  country  in  the  world  have  the  teacher,  the 
school,  and  literary  studies  been  so  powerful  in  moulding 
the  national  character  and  life. 

It  is  this  excess  of  uniformity — this  over-averaging— that 
President  Eliot  complains  of,  and  that  we  all  need  to  watch 
with  fear  and  trembling.  There  is  a  certain  danger  of  its 
appearance  in  schools  of  all  kinds;  other  things  being  equal, 
more  danger  in  large  -schools  than  in  small  ones,  and  in 
systems  of  schools  than  in  single  schools.  Many  teachers 
do  over-emphasize— and  the  majority  of  teachers  are  more 
or  less  likely  to  over-emphasize — keeping  step.  To  com- 
pare the  public  schools  with  other  schools  might  be  thought 
invidious,  and  to  speak  in  quantitative  terms  of  any  school 
is  impossible;  but  I  am  free  to  say,  for  one,  that  President 
Eliot  has  pointed  out  one  spot  where  public-school  men 
need  to  keep  the  danger  signal  all  the  time  flying. 

Men  offer  to  our  observation  a  great  variety  of  talents 
and  tastes.  In  his  late  address  at  Johns  Hopkins  Univer- 
sity, Archdeacon  Farrar  said: 

The  minds  of  men  differ  radically.  Some  men,  like  my  friend 
the  late  Dean  Stanley,  are  interested  in  the  nature  and  thought  of 
men;  others  breathe  most  freely  in  the  regions  of  the  abstract. 
Charles  Darwin  said  that  at  school  he  had  learned  nothing,  with 
the  exception  of  that  which  he  had  taught  himself  by  private  ex- 
periments in  chemistry;  and  when  the  head  master  discovered 
him,  instead  of  encouraging  him,  he  reproached  him  before  all 
the  form  with  being  apocco  atr rente,  which  he  thought  a  dread- 
ful name.  St.  Bernard  is  so  dead  to  outer  impressions  that  he 
travels  all  day  along  Lake  Geneva,  and  then  asks  where  the  lake 
is;  while  Linnaeus  is  so  sensitive  to  the  beauties  of  nature  that, 
when  he  beholds  a  promontory  standing  boldly  forth  and  teeming 
with  beauty,  he  cannot  help  falling  upon  his  knees  and  thanking 
God  for  such  a  world. 

What  educational  problems  these  examples  suggest! 
But  every  man  of  reading  can  readily  parallel  them,  even 


128  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

if  he  cannot  state  them  in  as  choice  language.  Sir  Walter 
Scott  took  small  interest  in  the  school  studies,  and  was 
looked  upon  with  little  favor  by  the  masters;  but  he  had  a 
passion  for  the  antiquities,  history,  and  minstrelsy  of  Scot- 
land, and  finally  became  the  great  chivalric  poet  and  his- 
torical romancer  of  the  century.  You  remember  the  stories 
of  Darwin  and  Sir  Humphrey  Davy.  But  a  much  com- 
moner case  is  such  as  this:  A  boy  who  does  nothing  in 
school  but  make  trouble  has  a  taste  for  drawing  and 
mechanical  contrivance;  he  spends  the  time  that  the 
teacher  wants  him  to  bestow  on  geography  and  grammar 
in  making  pictures  and  toy  machinery,  and  at  last  blos- 
soms out,  to  the  surprise  of  everybody,  an  architect  or 
an  inventor.  But  the  variety  of  character  is  greater  than 
the  variety  of  intellect.  The  sensibility  and  the  will  pre- 
sent to  the  educator  more  problems  and  more  difficult 
ones  than  the  understanding.  Children's  minds  have 
been  compared  to  combination  locks;  if  j'ou  have  the 
"  combination,"  you  can  enter  at  once;  if  you  have  not, 
no  pounding  on  the  door  will  give  )'ou  entrance.  Some- 
times the  combination  is  simple  and  easy,  and  then  again 
it  is  complex  and  difficult. 

Now,  our  problem  is  to  adapt  the  schools  to  this  variety 
of  mind  and  character.  Averaging  of  some  sort  begins  at 
once.  One  hard  thing  to  manage  is  the  course  of  study; 
the  work  assigned  in  the  grades  must  not  be  measured  by 
the  abilit)^  of  the  brightest,  nor  again  of  the  dullest, 
scholars.  The  problem  confronts  us  again  in  the  exami- 
nations and  promotions.  Then  the  teacher  question 
brings  it  up  in  a  still  more  trying  form.  Some  teachers 
can  rise  and  fall  through  two  or  three  octaves,  some 
through  one  octave,  some  are  confined  to  a  single  note. 
In  government  and  moral  control  it  is  even  worse,  since 
the  average  teacher  has  less  power  to  discipline  and  mould 


"CALVINISM"  AND  "AVERAGING"  IN  EDUCATION.     1 29 

character  than  she  has  to  instruct.  One  teacher  reports  a 
pupil  stubborn;  another  says  he  is  perfectly  manageable. 
One  teacher  soothes  a  boy  who  is  bristling  like  the  fretful 
porcupine ;  another  ruffles  him  and  makes  him  more  fret- 
ful. In  some  schools  you  will  always  find  more  or  less 
irritation  and  friction;  troublesome  boys  who  pass  into 
other  schools  disappear  from  sight  like  icebergs  drifting 
towards  the  torrid  zone.  We  have  difficulty  in  account- 
ing for  these  differences  in  teachers.  Even  the  most  skill- 
ful analysts  of  character  fail  us.  They  mention  "  good 
sense,"  "sympathy,"  and  several  other  common  quali- 
ties, and  then  pass  off  into  vagueness — "native  tact," 
"subtle  influence,"  and  "indefinable  quality."  Most 
unfortunately,  where  the  teacher  should  be  fullest  of  re- 
sources the  most  vicious  averaging  is  done.  Again, 
women  are  more  skillful  than  men  in  finding  the  mind 
and  heart  combinations  of  small  children,  and  this  is  why 
they  make  the  best  primary  teachers. 

I  am  familiar  with  the  manner  in  which  the  regulation 
schoolmaster  puts  aside  such  examples  as  those  just  pre- 
sented. He  says  they  are  "exceptional,"  and  declares, 
what  is  true  enough  as  a  rule,  that  the  boys  and  girls  who 
do  well  in  school  do  well  in  other  places;  but  the  question 
arises  whether  the  child  that  cannot  go  at  the  common 
pace,  but  has  a  pace  of  his  own — the  boy  who  is  separate 
and  apart,  and  is  therefore  called  "queer,"  or  "odd," 
or  "strange"  — receives  the  attention  that  is  his  due. 
Should  such  a  boy  as  Walter  Scott,  or  Charles  Darwin, 
or  Humphrey  Davy  appear  in  the  schools  of  Detroit, 
Chicago,  or  Cleveland,  would  he  find  any  room,  or  would 
he  be  driven  out  by  the  established  regimen  ?  I  shall 
not  answer  my  own  question,  but  will  say  that  the  schools 
sometimes  seem  to  present  a  case  of  arrested  develop- 
ment.      The   graded-school  movement   has    done   great 


130  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

things  for  education;  it  has  brought  S3'stem  and  order  out 
of  chaos;  it  has  created  custom  and  legality,  but  the 
question  of  individual  adaptation  and  progress  has  not 
been  fully  solved.  The  cake  of  custom  has  been  baked, 
but  not  fully  broken.  This  is  my  excuse  for  offering 
some  remarks  on  this  point  of  a  more  definitely  practical 
character. 

1 .  President  Eliot  does  not  exaggerate  the  value  to  the 
world  of  its  great  men;  nor  is  his  solicitude  for  the  ten 
brightest  children  in  a  hundred  misplaced.  He  was 
right  when  he  wTote  in  "The  Atlantic  Monthly"  ten 
3'ears  ago: 

We  Americans  are  so  used  to  weighing  multitudes  and  being 
ruled  by  majorities  that  we  are  apt  to  underrate  the  potential 
influence  of  individuals.  Yet  we  know  that  Agassiz's  word  about 
a  fossil  fish  justly  outweighed  the  opinion  of  the  whole  human 
race  besides;  that  Von  Moltke  is  worth  great  armies  to  German}'; 
that  a  few  pages  of  poetry  about  slavery  and  freedom  by  Longfel- 
low, Lowell,  and  Whittier  have  had  the  profouudest  effect  upon 
the  public  fortunes  of  this  country  during  the  past  thirty  years; 
that  the  religions  of  the  world  have  not  been  the  combined  work 
of  multitudes,  but  have  been  accepted  from  individuals.  We 
must  not  be  led  by  our  averages  and  our  majorities  to  forget  that 
one  life  maybe  more  precious  than  other  millions;  that  one  heroic 
character,  one  splendid  genius,  may  well  be  worth  more  to  hu- 
manity than  multitudes  of  common  men.* 

But  it  does  not  seem  possible  to  make  very  full  provi 
sion  for  the  highest  abilities  in  schools  of  any  kind.  Tht 
fact  is,  the  men  who  have  them  move  in  an  orbit,  and 
with  an  impetus,  of  their  own.  In  discussing  the  scale 
of  merit  among  men  who  obtain  mathematical  honors  at 
the  University  of  Cambridge,  Mr.  Galton  speaks  of  the 
enormous  differences  of  power  that  the  examinations  reveal. 

»Junc,  1875,  p.  713. 


"CALVINISM"  AND  "AVERAGING"  IX  EDUCATIDX.    131 

One  year  the  senior  wrangler  obtained  9,422  marks,  while 
the  man  who  stood  at  the  bottom  of  the  same  honor  list 
obtained  only  309.  Galton  states  the  ratio  of  abilities  as 
30  or  32  to  1;  that  is,  the  senior  wrangler  is  able  to 
grapple  with  subjects  thirty  or  thirty-two  times  as  diffi- 
cult as  the  man  who  stands  lowest  on  the  list.  And 
yet  he  insists  that  the  examinations  do  not  give  the  best 
men  a  fair  chance,  owing  to  the  large  amount  of  time  that 
is  taken  up  in  the  mechanical  labor  of  writing.^ 

Now,  how  are  these  extraordinary  men  to  be  educated? 
I  can  see  but  one  possible  answer — they  must,  for  the 
most  part,  get  what  they  need  in  extra-school  work. 
What  they  need  is  great  teachers  who  can  guide  them  in 
their  studies.  This  is  w^hat  Dr.  Brunnow  did  for  Watson 
at  Ann  Arbor.  It  is  not  practicable  to  bring  the  bright- 
est pupils  in  a  public-school  grade  together  in  classes  b>' 
themselves;  the  different  classes  of  pupils  within  the 
grade  must,  for  the  time,  work  together.  But  when  we 
succeed  in  gearing  the  public  library  to  the  public  school , 
the  best  pupils  can  pour  their  surplus  power  into  litera- 
ture. It  may  be  replied  that  the  best  pupils  are  apt  to  be 
the  nervous  and  precocious  ones,  who  should  not  be 
crowded,  which  is  true  in  a  measure;  but  there  are  other 
pupils  of  superior  ability  and  strength  who  can  do  more 
than  the  allotted  measure  of  work. 

2.  A  good  teacher  can  do  a  great  deal  of  this  differ- 
ential work  within  the  school.  Here,  I  fear,  teachers  do 
not  always  understand  their  business.  At  the  beginning 
of  a  term  a  class  is  graded,  and  the  teacher,  perhaps, 
thinks  that  she  should  keep  it  graded.  Not  at  all;  it  is 
her  duty  to  ungrade  the  school  as  quickly  and  thoroughly 
as  possible.  Even  classes  may  be  very  easy  to  handle, 
but  they  indicate  average  teaching.     English  fox-hunters 

^Hereditary  Genius,  p.  20. 


132  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

think  it  a  great  merit  in  a  pack  of  hounds  to  run  in  so 
close  a  body  that  a  blanket  will  cover  thera,  but  schools 
are  not,  or  at  least  should  not  be,  '  'packs  of  children. ' '  By 
ungrading  a  .school  I  do  not  mean  that  the  bright  children 
are  always  to  be  promoted  out  of  the  class,  though  that  is 
sometimes  best:  I  rather  mean  that  extra  work  may  be 
furnished  in  school  or  out  of  school  to  those  who  are  able 
and  anxious  to  do  it.  This  would,  in  reality,  be  putting 
two  or  three  courses  in  the  one  course:  imperia  in  im- 
perio. 

3.  To  put  elective  studies  in  lower-grade  schools  I 
think  impracticable.  The  studies  of  those  grades  are 
fundamental  in  character  as  well  as  in  name,  and  the 
children,  with  the  exceptions  soon  to  be  made,  must  be 
held  to  them.  But  you  will  often  find  boys  who  have  no 
taste  and  no  ability  for  grammar,  for  example,  but  are 
good  readers,  good  arithmeticians,  good  geographers,  and 
are  full  of  general  information  into  the  bargain.  To  re- 
fuse promotion  to  such  a  boy,  particularly  if  his  sta}''  in 
school  will  be  short,  is  an  injustice.  The  same  is  true  of 
the  girl  who  succeeds  in  everything  but  arithmetic.  But 
I  shall  be  told  that  there  are  indolent  pupils,  and  pupils 
who  have  dislikes  for  particular  studies,  and  that  these 
will  also  ask  for  promotion  when  they  fail.  This  difficulty 
is  not  an  imaginar}^  one;  but  I  reply  that  I  would  pro- 
mote none  on  this  score  who  have  not  also  been  successful 
in  nearly  all  the  studies.  Moreover,  the  refusal  to  do 
justice  to  one  class  of  pupils  because  another  and  a  differ- 
ent class  will  make  trouble,  while  it  must  sometimes  be 
done  perhaps,  is  most  emphatically  a  vicious  averaging 
process.  Again,  there  are  pupils  who  never  master  the 
work  of  any  grade  beyond  the  fourth  or  fifth;  they  absorb 
.so  much  of  a  subject  and  never  absorb  any  more;  and, 
when  the  point  of  saturation  is  reached,  they  should  be 


"CALVINISM"  AND  "AVERAGING"  IN  EDUCATION.     1 33 

moved  along.  Of  course  such  pupils  cannot  be  carried 
through  the  schools  and  graduated;  fortunately  for  the 
management,  however,  they  generally  disappear  before 
graduation  day  comes.  Perhaps  I  shall  be  asked,  "How 
much  would  you  yield  at  these  various  points?"  That 
question  cannot  be  answered  in  quantitative  terms.  What 
I  mean  is,  I  would  individualize  the  cases  and  deal  with 
them  as  they  arise. 

But  one  side  of  uniformity  and  averaging  President 
Eliot  did  not  touch  on.  It  was  left  to  Professor  Harris, 
of  Andover,  at  that  famous  dinner,  to  discuss  the  subject 
of  order.  He  is  reported  as  having  said:  "  Order  is  not 
heaven's  first  law;  order  is  the  law  of  a  small  mind — of  an 
imitative,  mechanical  mind.  Order,  as  a  law,  reminds 
one  of  a  Dutch  garden,  of  rooms  in  a  hotel  with  furniture 
arranged  exactl)-  alike.  There  is  a  vast  distance  between 
order  and  disorder  where  variety  may  appear. ' '  We  need 
not  weigh  these  words  one  by  one,  or  as  a  whole;  but  it  is 
desirable  to  think  the  important  subject  ol  order  out  to 
the  end. 

The  common  saying  that  order  is  not  an  end  but  a 
means  is  perfectly  true.  The  same  may  be  said  of  educa- 
tion itself,  though  in  a  different  sense.  Order  is  proxi- 
mate to  education,  education  to  life.  A  certain  kind  and 
amount  of  order  is  essential  to  intellectual  education ;  there 
must  be  attention  and  application  to  the  objects  of  study. 
Migratory  tribes  never  become  highly  civilized;  bodies  of 
men  must,  as  a  whole,  become  fixed  and  permanent  be- 
fore they  can  really  enter  on  the  march  of  mental  and 
moral  progress.  A  similar  condition  attends  the  educa- 
tion of  the  individual  pupil.  Then  order  has  an  important 
moral  bearing.  Regularity,  punctuality,  industry,  and 
obedience,  all  requiring  much  self-control,  are  prominent 


134 


STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 


features  of  public  schools  as  now  organized  and  conducted; 
and  how  important  they  are  as  moral  virtues,  no  reading 
and  thinking  man  has  an  excuse  for  not  understanding, 
since  Dr.  W.  T.  Harris  gave  them  this  rank  and  dignity, 
first  in  one  of  his  St.  Louis  reports,  and  afterwards  in  a 
paper  read  to  the  National  Council  of  Education  in  1883.^ 
And  this  is  one  side  of  the  case  as  fully  as  I  need  to  pre- 
sent it;  now  for  the  per  contra. 

Nothing  in  school  management  is  easier  than  to  o\-erdo 
order.  Particularly  is  this  true  in  the  cases  of  small 
children  of  American  ancestry,  with  a  tendency  to  ner- 
vousness. Every  man  of  sense  and  observation  will  admit 
this  the  moment  he  reflects  on  their  restless  manner,  their 
animal  .spirits,  and  their  small  power  of  ph3-sical  self- 
control.-  Such  children  must  have  frequent  physical  ex- 
ercises while  the  school  hours  are  passing;  also  a  good 
deal  of  libert}^  when  engaged  in  work  at  their  seats.  They 
cannot  be  "trussed"  like  so  man}-  chickens.  The  old- 
fashioned  tests  of  school  excellence,  "you  can  hear  a  pin 
fall,"  or  "a  watch  tick,"  are  most  unnatural,  absurd,  and 
tyrannical:  human  nature  rebels  against  such  repression. 
Reasonable  order  in  the  school-room,  for  the  most  part, 
must  be  secured  indirectly;  it  must  come  as  the  result  of 
keen  interest  in  the  work,  and  close  application  to  it. 
What  is  sometimes  called  "good  order"  does  not  always 
imply  either  interest  in  studies  or  a  good  school,  since  it 

*  The  National  Council  of  Education,  18S3. 

^Dr.  G.  .Stanley  Hall  gives  this  bit  of  descri2:)tiou:  "I  have 
seen  a  file  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  small  German  boys  just  as  they 
marched  out  of  the  school  house  at  noon,  almost  unbroken  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  awa)';  and  I  observed  several  hundred  little  girls 
at  the  Victoria  School  in  Berlin,  during  an  outdoor  recess,  and  did 
not  see  one  run  a  step  or  do  anything  a  lady  ought  not  to  have 
done,  although  they  were  allowed  perfect  freedom." — Aspt;cts  of 
German  Culture,  p.  30G. 


CALVIxMSM  "  AND  "AVERAGING"  IN  EDUCATION. 


135 


may  be  secured  bj^  extreme  repression;  but  interest  and 
application  are  pretty  certain  to  lead  to  good  order.  In 
other  words,  order  should  be  largely  spontaneous.  In  the 
long  run,  that  teacher  will  best  succeed  in  securing  it  who 
says  little  about  it.  Even  grown  persons  who  are  con- 
sciously trying  to  keep  still  find  it  difficult  to  do  so.  How 
hard  many  find  it  to  sit  for  a  photograph  !  The  boy  whose 
business  is  to  be  quiet  is  likely  to  make  a  great  deal  of 
noise  while  about  it.  Moreover,  a  positive  direction 
or  order  to  keep  still,  given  to  anj^  assemblage,  tends 
to  provoke  nervous  and  muscular  movements.  Great 
audiences  are  as  still  as  death,  not  when  the  orator  is 
descanting  on  order  and  stillness,  but  when  he  loses  him- 
self and  them  in  his  subject.  Hence  attempts  to  secure 
order  should  not  be  thrust  into  the  faces  of  children. 
Wendell  Phillips  tells  an  anecdote  of  a  judge  who 
said  to  the  crier  of  the  court,  "  Mr.  Crier,  you  are 
the  noisiest  man  in  court,  with  your  everlasting  shout  of 
'silence  !'  "  So  it  is  in  some  schools;  the  teacher  with  her 
sharp  cries,  "attention!"  "position!"  causes,  directly 
and  indirectly,  more  nervousness  and  confusion  than  all 
the  scholars  put  together.  I  have  heard  children  say,  "  I 
cannot  keep  still  in  that  school."  But  while  the  order  of 
school  should  be  mostly  spontaneous,  and  therefore 
unconscious,  I  know  full  well  that  often  the  teacher  must 
take  a  pupil,  and  even  a  school,  in  hand,  and  bring  about 
the  desired  result  by  direct  means. 

But  there  is  another  view  of  the  subject,  second  to  no 
other  in  importance.  A  good  teacher  must  possess  two 
great  qualities;  the  power  to  govern  or  manage,  and  the 
power  to  instruct  and  develop  the  child.  That  the  second 
of  these  is  the  greater  power,  is  as  clear  as  that  the  first  is 
often  more  highly  valued.  Unfortunately,  there  are  teach- 


136  STUDIES    IX    EDUCATION'. 

ers  of  good  abilities,  excellent  character,  fine  education, 
apt  to  teach,  and  of  admirable  influence  on  mind  and 
heart,  who  are  not  gifted  as  managers.  Some  are  even 
weak.  In  time  they  may  establish  their  influence  in  the 
school,  but  the}'  cannot  walk  into  the  room  and  command 
order  with  a  nod  or  a  wave  of  the  hand.  Still  more  un- 
fortunately, there  are  other  teachers  who  have  large  power 
to  manage,  but  are  very  poor  and  weak  in  intellectual 
and  moral  qualities.  These  teachers,  often  coarse  and 
ruling  by  mere  animal  dominanc}',  can  nod  and  wave 
children  into  enforced  subjection,  but  they  succeed  indif- 
ferently in  the  real  ends  for  which  the  .school  exists.  1 
am  fully  aware  that  a  certain  amount  of  control  is  essen- 
tial to  good  instruction,  and  that  a  teacher  who  cannot 
govern,  no  matter  how  admirable  a  person  she  may  be,  is 
a  failure;  but  it  has  often  seemed  to  me  unfortunate  that, 
nine  times  in  ten,  the  visitor,  or  superintendent  on  visit- 
ing a  school,  especially  if  the  teacher  be  a  new  one,  is  first 
struck  by  the  order  and  afterwards  by  the  instruction. 
Then  five  or  ten  minutes  often  suffices  the  experienced 
observer  to  tell  whether  a  school  is  managed  or  not,  while 
repeated  visits,  some  of  them  protracted  ones,  are  neces- 
sary to  ascertain  the  character  of  the  instruction  along  all 
the  lines  of  school  work.  Particularly  is  this  true  in  the 
upper  grades,  where  the  work  is  widely  differentiated. 
These  theoretical  views,  together  with  some  observation, 
lead  me  to  two  conclusions  which,  however,  are  but  one 
at  root:  That  the  superintendent,  the  schoolboard,  and 
even  the  whole  community,  are  pretty  certain  to  over- 
value the  managing  teacher  as  compared  with  the 
developing  teacher;  and  that,  generally,  too  much  atten- 
tion is  given  to  order  as  compared  with  instruction. 
And  still  a  teacher  must  govern  to  a  degree  or  she  cannot 
develop. 


"  CALVINISM  "  AND  "  AVERAGING  "  IN  EDUCATION.    1 37 

This  group  of  topics,  which  has  detained  us  so  long, 
may  be  dismissed  with  these  additional  remarks:  That 
the  public  school  system  of  a  large  cit}^  with  its  grades, 
courses  of  study,  teachers,  supervisors,  etc.,  is  necessarily 
complicated,  and  more  or  less  machine-like;  that  it  may 
easily  be  made  a  repressive,  oppressive,  and  deadening 
machine;  and  that  educational  bigots  and  sciolists  will  be 
sure  to  prostitute  it  to  these  ends.  No  other  schools  call 
for  more  intelligent  teachers  and  supervision.  It  was  once 
said  of  a  great  national  church  that  abounded  in  mechani- 
cal elements:  "When  once  this  vast  organization,  with 
its  minuteness  of  ritual,  ceased  to  be  constantly  \'ivified 
b}^  the  breath  of  prophesy  often  passing  over  it,  like  a 
divine  whirlwind,  to  shake  its  entire  fabric,  its  tendency 
was  to  petrify  into  immobility. ' '  Something  like  this  will 
happen  to  the  public  schools  almost  the  verj"  hour  that 
they  cease  to  feel  the  vivifying  breath  of  public  discussion. 

One  thing  more  and  I  am  done.  More  than  anything 
else  in  the  world,  education  is  a  matter  of  men  and  women. 
No  matter  what  school  topic  we  raise,  it  soon  passes  into 
the  concrete.  Courses  of  study  and  methods  of  instruc- 
tion lead  quickly  up  to  the  question,  "Who  are  to  do  the 
teaching  and  supervising?"  All  contemplated  reforms 
resolve  themselves  into  the  teacher-question.  Like  other 
instruments  of  vast  power,  the  public-school  system 
may  be  greatly  abused;  and  whether  it  is  or  not,  will 
depend,  in  the  first  place,  mainly  on  the  intelligence, 
education,  and  devotion  of  teachers  and  supervisors.  To 
aid  in  solving  this  problem,  such  associations  as  yours 
exist  and  such  meetings  as  the  present  one  are  held.  I 
can  leave  with  you  no  larger  hope  than  this — that  in  your 
efforts  to  solve  the  problem  you  may  meet  your  fullest 
expectations. 


VI 

PRESIDENT  ELIOT  ON  POPULAR 
EDUCATION/ 

jHE  FORUM  for  December,  1892,  contained 
one  of  those  vigorous  articles  that  President 
Eliot,  of  Harvard  University,  occasionally 
contributes  to  current  educational  literature. 
Beginning  with  the  averment  that  there  is  serious  and 
general  disappointment  at  the  results  of  popular  education 
up  to  this  date,  although  many  countries  have  now  sj^stem- 
atically  provided  such  education  for  all  children  for  more 
than  two  generations  at  great  cost  and  with  a  good  deal 
of  enthusiasm,  he  proceeds  to  sum  up  with  a  strong 
hand  the  current  criticisms  of  universal  education  as  a 
cure  for  ancient  wrongs  and  evils.  The  following  sum- 
mary will  give  a  fair  view  of  the  scope  and  content  of  this 
arraignment : 

(1)  General  education  does  not  promote  general  con- 
tentment, and  so  fails  to  secure  public  happiness.  (2) 
People  in  general  are  hardly  more  reasonable  in  the  con- 
duct of  life  than  they  were  before  free  schools,  popular 
colleges,  and  the  cheap  printing  press  existed,  as  is  shown 
by  the  currency  of  obscene  books  and  pictures  and  low 
novels,  by  the  number  and  success  of  quacks  and  impos- 
tors, by  the  general  acceptance  of  popular  sophisms  and 
fallacies,  and  by  the  cyclones  of  popular  folly  that  beat 
upon  the  ship  of  state.     (3)  Lawless  violence  breaks  out 

•  A  paper  read  before  the  Principals'  Association  of  the  city  of 
Chicago,  February,  1893. 

138 


PRESIDENT    ELIOT    ON    POPULAR   EDUCATION.       1 39 

just  as  it  did  before  there  were  common  schools;  the  Jews 
are  still  ostracized  in  German}-  and  in  New  York,  and  are 
robbed  and  driven  into  exile  in  Russia.  (4)  New  tyran- 
nies are  constantly  arising,  the  tyrant  being  some- 
times a  majority  of  voters,  sometimes  a  combina- 
tion of  owners,  contractors,  or  workmen,  sometimes 
the  walking  delegate.  Popular  elections  are  conducted 
in  an  irrational  manner,  votes  are  still  purchasable, 
and  the  average  voter  is  an  intense  partisan.  (5) 
Society  does  not  tend  toward  a  greater  equality  of  con- 
ditions; the  distinctions  between  rich  and  poor  are 
intensified,  and  education  does  not  procure  for  the  wage- 
earner  exemption  from  exhausting  toil.  (6)  The  rich 
man  refuses  to  accept  responsibility  with  his  wealth  ;  he 
gives  or  withholds  employment  as  he  pleases,  and,  irre- 
spective of  education,  is  just  as  selfish  and  luxurious  in 
his  habits  as  was  his  predecessor  in  former  centuries 
who  could  not  write  his  name.  (7)  War  is  more  destruc- 
tive than  ever;  the  nineteenth  century  is  the  bloodiest  of 
all  the  centuries;  the  world  has  never  before  seen  such 
man-slaying  machines  as  are  the  great  armies  that  Europe 
is  now  supporting,  while  the  American  Republic  is 
expending  more  money  on  pensions  than  France  or 
Germany  expends  on  her  army.  (^)  The  conditions  of 
employment  have  not  been  made  more  humane  and  com- 
fortable; almost  all  services  and  industries  are  organized 
on  the  brutal  principle  of  the  dismissal  of  the  employed 
by  the  emploj-er  on  the  briefest  notice,  and  the  tenure  of 
employment  during  efficiency  and  good  behavior  is  the 
privilege  of  an  insignificant  minority  of  well-to-do  people. 

A  moment's  reflection  suffices  to  show  that  this  form- 
idable indictment  includes  much  more  than  the  existin.<4 
education,— that  it  is,  in  fact,  an  indictment  of   what  we 


140  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION, 

familiarly  call  modern  progress.  President  Eliot  does 
not  endorse  all  the  counts  that  have  been  enumerated;  he 
spreads  them  over  four  pages  of  "  The  Forum, "and  then 
tells  us  that  they  exaggerate  existing  evils  and  leave  out 
of  sight  great  improvements  in  social  conditions  which 
the  last  two  generations  have  seen.  But,  unfortu- 
nately, he  leaves  us  in  doubt  as  to  the  extent  of  such 
exaggeration.  Still,  he  devotes  a  page  or  more  to 
stating  some  of  the  beneficent  changes  that  have  been 
effected  in  the  social  economy  in  the  last  seventy 
3'ears.  He  mentions  the  mitigation  of  human  misieries 
resulting  from  the  reformation  of  penal  codes  and 
prisons,  the  institution  of  reformatories  and  hospitals, 
and  the  abolition  of  pirac)^  and  slavery.  He  says  that  sav- 
ings' banks  and  other  similar  institutions  have  promoted 
habits  of  industrj^  and  frugality- ;  that  the  condition  of 
most  laboring  classes  in  societ}"  has  been  ameliorated  in 
respect  to  earnings,  hours  of  labor,  lodgings,  food,  and 
clothing,  while  means  of  education  for  their  children  have 
been  multiplied  and  family  and  school  discipline  have 
been  mitigated,  and  all  sorts  of  abuses  and  cruelties  have 
been  checked.  Further,  almost  all  business  is  conducted 
nowadays  on  faith,  which  is  based  on  the  inherent  moral 
qualities  of  the  race  that  general  education  reinforces  and 
fortifies;  freedom  of  intercourse  has  been  amazingly 
developed;  progress  has  been  made  toward  a  genuine 
iniity  of  spirit  among  classes  and  peoples  ;  and  while  war 
has  not  ceased,  soldiers  are  more  intelligent  than  they  once 
were.  The  industries  and  trades  also  require  more  intel- 
ligence in  work  people  than  heretofore.  He  adds  that 
while  popular  education  has  not  effected  all  these  changes, 
it  has  contributed  to  them  all. 

How   far   he   considers   the  .social   improvements   and 
ameliorations  that  he  eninnerates  a  set-off  to  the  criticisms 


PRESIDENT    ELIOT    OX    POPULAR    EDUCATION.       141 

on  the  schools  that  he  marshals,  President  Eliot  does  not 
say.  While  it  is  manifestly  impossible,  in  such  a  case, 
to  speak  in  quantitative  terms,  it  must  be  clear  to  every 
reflecting  mind  that  they  are  a  set-off  to  a  very  great 
extent.  For  example,  the  particular  facts  stated  in 
regard  to  the  improved  condition  of  work  people  largely 
neutralize  the  general  statements  previously  made  about 
the  relations  of  capital  and  labor  and  of  the  extremes 
of  society.  And  here  it  is  pertinent  to  say  that  if 
President  Eliot  had  been  content  to  submit  a  summary  of 
the  criticisms  on  the  current  education  that  he  thinks 
true  and  important,  with  reasons  for  his  opinions,  instead 
of  resorting  to  the  cumbrous  method  of  the  courts  of  law — 
first  filing  an  indictment  and  then  a  partial  answer — he 
would  have  rendered  the  cause  which  he  wishes  to  pro- 
mote a  much  more  valuable  service,  especially  as  he  dis- 
misses the  case  without  any  summing-up  whatever.  Had 
he  done  this,  he  would  have  found  his  task  more  difficult. 
He  would  have  found  it  necessary  carefullj'  to  consider 
what  popular  education  may  justly  be  expected  to  accom- 
plish for  societ}', — a  phase  of  the  general  subject  that,  at 
the  present  time,  is  second  in  importance  to  no  other 
phase  that  can  be  mentioned.  That  a  multitude  of  people, 
if  not  indeed  a  large  majority,  entertain  exaggerated  ideas 
of  the  function,  and  so  of  the  usefulness,  of  popular  edu- 
cation, he  appears  to  perceive;  for  he  says,  in  the  wisest 
paragraph  of  his  whole  article,  that  it  is  somewhat  com- 
forting, while  brooding  over  the  educational  failure,  to 
recall  that  society  had  already  had  similar  disappoint- 
ments, accompanying  the  remark  with  two  well-chosen 
examples.  Unity  of  religious  belief,  instead  of  bringing 
the  ideal  social  state  that  many  persons  expected  it  to 
bring,  brought  rather  persecutions  and  desolating  wars 
of  religion;  while  popular  government  has  come  far  short 


142  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION'. 

of  realizing  the  almost  infinite  possibilities  that  demo- 
cratic optimists  believed  it  contained  at  the  time  when 
modern  society  was  first  entering  into  the  enchanted  land 
of  I,iberty,  Equality,  and  Fraternity.  Than  these,  he  could 
not  have  drawn  more  impressive  lessons  pertinent  to  the 
question  from  the  records  of  social  experience;  they 
deserve  more  emphasis  than  he  gives  them;  for,  if  the 
Christian  Church  and  democratic  government  are  to  be 
measured  by  the  high  standards  that  many  enthusiastic 
.souls  have  set  up  for  them,  they  are  more  di.sheartening 
failures  than  popular  education,  even  when  it  is  treated 
in  the  same  manner.  The  New  Testament  teaches  that 
the  Christian  religion  came  down  from  above,  and  that  it 
will  thoroughly  furnish  men  unto  all  good  works;  and 
nothing  is  easier  for  a  man  who  accepts  this  view  than  to 
conclude  that  its  general  introduction  into  the  world 
would  certainly  usher  in  the  millennium,  provided  only 
he  overlooks  the  fact  stated  by  St.  Paul :  ' '  For  we  have 
this  treasure  in  earthen  vessels. ' '  Then  put  the  govern- 
ment of  the  City  of  New  York  or  of  the  City  of  Chicago 
alongside  of  what  the  democratic  prophets  were  saying 
about  democracy  a  century  ago.  The  democratic  theory  is 
that  government  is  proximate  to  all  the  great  interests  of 
human  life;  that  men  generally,  or  at  least  a  great  majority 
of  men,  will  actively  bestir  themselves  to  secure  good  gov- 
ernment whenever  they  can  make  their  power  felt,  and 
that,  therefore,  nothing  is  wanting  to  secure  such  govern- 
ment but  the  creation  of  the  required  political  conditions. 
Well,  in  the  United  States  we  have  now  been  trying  the 
experiment  for  more  than  a  hundred  years  under  the  most 
favorable  conditions  that  ever  existed;  and  we  have  been 
compelled  to  learn,  as  Dr.  Eliot  puts  it,  that  "universal 
suffrage  is  not  a  panacea  for  social  ills,  but  simply  the 
most  expedient  way  to  enlist  the  interest  and  support  of 


PRESIDENT    ELIOT    ON    POPULAR    EDUCATION.       1 43 

US  all  in  the  government  of  us  all."  That  is,  we  have 
learned  that  democratic  government  is  not  a  perpetual 
motion.  Democracy  is  the  doctrine  of  averages  applied 
to  public  affairs;  and  there  is  no  reason  to  expect  that,  in 
the  long  run,  it  will  produce  government  that  is  superior 
to  the  average  intelligence  or  morality  of  the  nation.  The 
belief  of  the  most  advanced  peoples  now  is,  that  elemen- 
tary instruction  should  be  made  universal,  irrespective  of 
sex,  class,  or  condition,  and  that  the  means  of  secondary 
and  higher  education  should  also  be  liberally  furnished ; 
some  of  these  peoples  have  now  been  acting  on  this  theory 
for  a  long  time;  and,  considering  the  part  that  knowledge 
and  intellectual  power  are  commonly  supposed  to  play  in 
the  economy  of  human  life,  it  was  natural  that  most  men 
should  antecendently  think  that  the  final  result  would  be 
a  social  transformation.  Although  we  have  not  yet  reached 
the  goal  of  universal  education,  we  have  gone  far  enough 
towards  it  to  see  that  it  will  not  prove  a  panacea  for  social 
ills,  but  that  it  is  simply  the  most  effective  means  yet 
devised  for  diffusing  intelligence,  and  so  for  partially  free- 
ing men  and  society  from  the  dominion  of  folly,  ignorance, 
and  passion,  thus  making  life  less  bestial  and  more  human 
than  it  was  before.  It  was  never  reasonable  to  expect 
that  it  would  cure  all  our  political  sicknesses  and  correct 
all  our  social  disorders. 

The  panacea  tendency  in  human  nature,  arising  from 
the  force  of  conservative  habit,  is  very  strong.  "Each 
age,"  says  Mr.  Mackenzie  Wallace,  "has  its  peculiar  so- 
cial and  political  panaceas.  One  generation  puts  its  trust 
in  religion,  another  in  philanthropy,  a  third  in  written  con- 
stitutions, a  fourth  in  universal  suffrage,  a  fifth  in  popular 
education.  In  the  Epoch  of  the  Restoration,  as  it  is  called, 
the  favorite  panacea  was  secret  political  association."' 

*  Russia,  p.  393. 


144  STUDIES    IX    EDUCATION. 

The  public  school  is  the  panacea  in  which  we  Amer- 
icans have  been  putting  our  trust,  and  we  are  now 
waking  up  to  the  fact  that  it  is  not  doing  the  work  that 
we  have  confidently  expected  it  to  do.  This  is  a  very 
painful,  but  also  a  very  important  revelation,  and  it  is  very 
desirable  that  it  shall  soon  be  followed  by  the  further  dis- 
covery that  it  can  never  be  made  to  do  all  that  work.  So- 
ciety, having  produced  at  great  cost  a  system  of  public  in- 
struction, seems  determined  to  thrust  upon  it  burdens  it  can- 
not carry.  Most  of  our  Catholic  brethren,  for  example,  will 
not  use  the  public  school,  save  as  a  dernier  resort,  because 
it  does  not  teach  dogmatic  religion:  as  though  such  a 
thing  were  possible  in  a  democratic  country!  Some  peo- 
ple blame  the  school  because  it  does  not  make  the  pupils, 
or  at  least  most  of  them,  moral:  as  though  the  school  could 
take  the  place  of  the  family  and  the  church  !  Some  per- 
sons say  the  school  does  not  fit  pupils  for  practical  life, 
and  President  Eliot  charges  that  it  does  not  equip  them 
for  dealing  with  the  economical  and  financial  problems 
that  vex  the  countrj' .  And  yet  on  this  point  he  himself 
once  wrote:  "  Many  persons  hold  that  the  Republic  can  be 
saved  by  primary  education,  but  the  most  despotic  gov- 
ernment in  the  world  —  that  of  Germany  —  is  that  where 
primary  education  is  most  widespread."  He  seems, 
however,  immediately  to  have  forgotten  Germany,  for  he 
proceeds  to  say:  "Despots  can  reconcile  themselves  to 
universal  primary  education,  but  cannot  overcome  the  in- 
fluence of  universal  education  of  a  higher  type.  Well 
conducted  superior  education  —  the  training  in  knowledge, 
in  writing,  and  speaking,  of  the  natural  leaders  of  the 
people  —  is  the  need  of  the  countr3^" 

It  is  worth  observing  that  even  men  of  cultivation  tend 
to  invest  certain  human  institutions  with  very  exalted  at- 


PRESIDENT    ELIOT    ON    POPULAR    EDUCATION.       1 45 

tributes.  The  church,  the  government,  and  the  schools 
of  learning  are  spoken  of  as  though  they  were  something 
superior  to  general  society;  something  partially  or  wholly 
separate  and  apart  from  it;  and  as  though  they  should, 
therefore,  be  free,  in  large  measure,  from  the  weaknesses 
and  vices  that  belong  to  the  mass  of  mankind.  A  moment' s 
reflection  should  teach  men  of  even  average  education  that 
clothing  human  organizations  of  aiy  kind  with  a  highly 
superior  intelligence,  wisdom,  and  skill  when,  by  reason  of 
numbers,  they  are  in  close  touch  with  the  great  bod_\-  of 
society,  is  arrant  folly.  For  brief  periods  governments  have 
sometimes  risen  far  above  the  level  of  the  humanity  in  the 
midst  of  which  they  have  existed,  as  in  the  persons  of 
Charlemagne  and  Alfred,  but  these  are  the  exceptions 
that  prove  the  rule.  Of  all  the  uplifting  powers  that  have 
ever  acted  upon  the  course  of  civilization,  the  most  benefi- 
cent have  been  the  mind  and  the  heart  of  Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth; for  almost  nineteen  centuries  they  have  been  in- 
structing and  inspiring  the  most  progressive  races  of  men; 
and  yet  even  the  tyro  in  historical  studies  knows  that  from 
the  moment  when  the  Christian  Church  first  embraced  a 
large  section  of  human  society  to  this  day,  it  has  responded 
more  or  less  completely  to  the  evil  influences  and  tenden- 
cies of  both  time  and  country.  What  an  interval  there  is 
between  the  barbaric  church  of  Abyssinia  and  the  purest 
forms  of  American  Christianity  ! 

Probably  it  will  be  said  that  these  analogies  do  not  hold 
in  the  case  of  elementary  schools.  The  teacher,  we 
are  told,  works  upon  plastic  material;  he  is  the  potter, 
the  child  the  clay,  and  so  he  is  answerable  for  the 
vessel,  whether  it  be  one  of  honor  or  of  dishonor.  Even 
philosophers,  to  express  their  estimate  of  the  educa- 
tional function,  have  used  language  that  cannot  be  en- 
dorsed. 


146  ■  STUDIES    IX    EDUCATION. 

Leibnitz. — "Entrust  me  with  education,  and  in  less 
than  a  century  I  will  change  the  face  of  Europe." 

Descartes. — "Sound  understanding  is  the  most  widely 
diffused  thing  in  all  the  world,  and  all  differences  be- 
tween mind  and  mind  spring  from  the  fact  that  we  con- 
duct our  thoughts  over  different  routes. ' ' 

Locke. — "  Out  of  one  hundred  men,  more  than  ninety 
are  good  or  bad,  u.seful  or  harmful  to  societ)-,  owing  to 
the  education  they  have  received." 

Helvetius. — "All  men  are  born  equal  and  with  equal 
faculties,  and  education  alone  produces  a  difference  be- 
tween them."  ' 

It  is  not  proposed  to  traverse  these  opinions,  except  to 
.state  two  things.  The  first  is,  that  the}'  belong  to  the 
rhetoric  and  not  the  .science  of  education.  It  is,  no 
doubt,  wise  for  the  teacher,  and  probably  for  others  also, 
to  magnify  the  educational  function;  but  to  magnify  it  to 
the  extent  of  practically  denying  that  heredity  is  a  great 
factor  in  human  life,  not  to  speak  of  equalizing  the  facul- 
ties of  men,  is  to  set  at  naught  the  stubbornest  facts 
and  also  to  invite  defeat  in  the  pedagogical  field.  The 
second  observation  is,  that  school  education  is  quite  lim- 
ited as  compared  with  the  whole  field  of  human  culture. 
No  matter  how  good  .schools  may  become,  they  will  never 
supply  to  the  ma.ss  of  men  the  major  part  of  the  knowl- 
edge and  di.scipline  that  is  nece.s.sary  for  a  well-ordered 
life. 

It  is  worth  while  to  make  more  diligent  inquiry  con- 
cerning the  relations  of  the  school  to  the  other  agencies 
of  human  cultivation.  Of  all  writers  known  to  me.  Dr. 
W.  T.  Harris  has  best  an.swered  this  question.  "The 
four  cardinal  institutions  of  human  civilization  by  which 

1  See  Ribot:  Heredity ^  p.  347. 


PRESIDENT    ELIOT    ON    POPULAR    EDUCATION.       1 47 

man  realizes  his  ideal  and  educates  the  individual  into 
that  ideal,"  he  says,  "are  the  family,  civil  society,  the 
state,  and  the  church."  Each  of  these  institutions  has  a 
special  phase  of  education  all  its  own,  whose  functions 
cannot  be  performed  by  another."  As  a  matter  of  course, 
these  institutions  somewhat  overlap  and  supplement  one 
another.  The  survey  is  complete,  but  the  school  has  not 
been  found;  it  is  not  a  cardinal  institution  of  societ}',  as 
is  shown  by  the  fact  that  men  so  long  did  without  it. 
Dr.  Harris  thus  defines  the  province  of  the  school: — 

Education  in  its  most  obvious  signification  as  the  transform- 
ing influence  which  the  great  social  institutions — family,  civil 
society,  nation,  and  church— exert  on  the  individual  in  order  to 
convert  him  from  a  savage  into  a  civilized  being,  reinforces  its 
more  general  educational  instrumentalities  by  a  special  institution, 
the  school. 

The  school  is  established  for  the  training  of  youth  morally  and 
intellectually  in  a  direct  manner  by  the  influence  of  the  teacher. 
The  school  forms  a  supplementary  special  institution  whose  place 
or  order  is  found  between  the  family  and  civil  society.  It  comes 
partly  after  the  first  stage— that  of  family  nurture— and  partly 
contemporary  with  it,  and  usually  precedes  the  era  of  the  educa- 
tion of  civil  society,  namely  for  an  independent  vocation,  work  or 
business.  ^ 

To  assist  the  cardinal  institutions  of  civilization  is  the 
sphere  and  function  of  the  school.  It  is  one  of  the  numer- 
ous products  of  division  of  labor,  effected  long  after  the 
beginnings  of  human  cultivation;  it  has  very  materially 
lightened  the  work  of  the  cardinal  institutions,  and  has 
performed  much  of  that  work  in  a  far  better  manner  than  it 
had  been  done,  or  now  could  be  done,  without  it;  but  all 
attempts,  whether  arising  from  a   decline  of  interest  in 

1  See  the  Report  on  Pedagogics  made  to  the  National  Council 
of  Education  at  Madison,  July,  1884,  found  in  The  Proceedings 
of  the  Council  and  in  The  Proceedings  of  the  National  Educational 
Association  for  that  year. 


148  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

those  institutions,  or  from  enthusiasm  for  schools,  to 
thrust  this  secondary  agent  into  their  places,  and  to  demand 
that  it  shall  do  all,  or  nearly  all,  of  the  educational  work, 
must  necessarily  result  in  hopeless  failure  and  bitter  dis- 
appointment. It  is  hard  for  an  observing  man  to  resist  the 
conclusion  that  society  has  been  tending  strongly  in  that 
direction.  There  is  reason  to  think,  in  particular,  that 
certain  well-known  causes — such  as  the  development  of 
specialization  in  all  directions,  growing  love  of  ease  and 
enjoyment  on  the  part  of  the  well-to-do  classes,  and  increas- 
ing competition  in  business — are  materially  weakening  the 
family  in  more  ways  than  one.  At  all  events,  it  can  never 
be  impertinent  to  observe  that  this  primordial  institution 
cannot  devolve  its  educational  functions  and  duties  upon 
churches  and  schools,  no  matter  how  good  the  churches 
and  the  schools  may  be. 

Let  it  not  be  said  that  these  fears  are  groundless.  Pro- 
fessor Laurie,  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  says  in  a 
late  article:  "  Mothers  of  the  wealthier  classes  will  tell  us 
that  they  have  no  time  for  the  training  of  their  children; 
the  demands  of  society  are  too  exacting  to  admit  of  it. 
The  day  will  come,  if  the  race  is  to  make  progress,  when 
it  will  be  the  other  way  about,  and  society  will  have  to 
content  itself  with  taking  a  second  place,  while  the  duties 
of  the  nursery  and  the  parlor  will  make  good  their  prior 
claim." 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  belittle  the  offices  of  the 
teacher  and  of  the  schools;  rightly  considered,  those  offices 
are  of  very  great  importance.  Neither  do  I  wish  to 
depreciate  what  the  teacher  and  school  have  done  for 
.society;  they  have  been  of  incalculable  benefit.  Even  in 
the  field  of  morals,  where  there  is  so  nuich  criticism,  it  is 
my  firm  belief  that  the  school  is  ])erforniing  its  duties 
(juite  as  well   as  the  family  or  the  church.      Take  the 


PRESIDENT    ELIOT    ON    POPULAR    EDUCATION.      149 

children  of  a  large  city  for  example;  where  else  do  tens 
of  thousands  of  them  learn  such  valuable  lessons  in  punc- 
tuality, regularity,  obedience,  industry,  cleanliness,  de- 
cency of  appearance  and  behavior,  regard  for  the  rights 
and  feelings  of  others,  and  respect  for  law  and  order  as  in 
the  public  schools?  Nay,  more;  where  else  do  many  of 
them  learn  any  valuable  lessons  on  these  subjects  ?  Nor  do 
I  wish  to  turn  aside  from  the  schools  the  force  of  merited 
criticism;  there  can  be  no  question  that  they  stand  greatly 
in  need  of  improvement.  Least  of  all  do  I  wish  to  imply 
that  Dr.  Eliot  shares  the  highly  extravagant  ideas  con- 
cerning the  office  of  the  school  that  are  so  current,  and 
yet  even  his  ideas  are  extravagant.  My  purpose  is  rather 
to  reduce  the  popular  estimate  of  the  school  as  an  engine 
of  individual  and  social  improvement  to  something  like 
just  measure.  It  is  high  time  that  we  should  have  a 
fuller  discussion  than  we  have  ever  yet  had  of  the  limi- 
tations of  the  teacher  inhering  in  the  abilities  of  children, 
in  the  facts  of  social  life,  and  particularly  in  the  nature 
and  office  of  the  school  itself. 

Dr.  Eliot  presents  in  numbered  order  the  main  opera- 
tions of  the  mind  that  systematic  education  should  develop 
in  an  individual  in  order  to  increase  his  general  intelli- 
gence and  train  his  reasoning  power.  The  first  of  these 
processes  or  operations  is  observation;  the  alert,  intense, 
accurate  use  of  all  the  senses.  The  next  operation  is  the 
function  of  making  a  correct  record  of  things  observed. 
Then  comes  the  development  of  the  faculty  of  drawing 
correct  inferences  from  recorded  observations,  the  faculty 
of  grouping  or  coordinating  and  comparing  facts,  and  of 
drawing  from  them  sound  and  just  conclusions.  Fourthly, 
education  should  cultivate  the  power  of  expressing  one's 
thoughts   clearly,    concisely,    and   cogently.      Observing 


150  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

accurately,  recording  correctly,  comparing,  grouping,  and 
inferring  justly,  and  expressing  cogently  the  result  of 
these  mental  operations — these  are  the  things  in  which  a 
man  must  be  trained  in  youth,  if  his  judgment  and  rea- 
soning power  are  to  be  systematically  developed.  Let  it 
be  obser^'ed  that  the  emphasis  is  here  placed  where  it 
rightly  belongs;  on  discipline  or  power  and  not  on  infor- 
mation or  attainments  in  knowledge.  Then  the  four 
points  are  well  chosen;  to  develop  the  powers  mentioned 
is  the  primary  end  to  be  promoted  by  schools  and  teachers, 
and  we  may  justly  call  a  school  or  a  school  sj-stem  that 
falls  far  short  of  its  duty  in  these  particulars  a  failure. 
Still,  we  mu.st  not  overlook  the  ideas  of  relation  and 
mea.sure.  The  question  arises,  How  much  can  the  ele- 
mentary .school  do  to  teach  the  pupil  to  observe,  to  record, 
to  infer,  and  to  express  ?  Of  course,  the  answer  can  be 
only  an  approximate  one,  but  even  that  President  Eliot 
does  not  give,  .save  indirectly.  He  rather  reviews  the 
staples  of  instruction  in  the  elementary  schools,  and  pro- 
nounces the  results  meagre  and  unsatisfactory.  The 
acquisition  of  the  art  of  reading  is  mostly  a  matter  of 
memory,  he  .says;  the  .same  mu.st  be  .said  of  writing: 
as  to  English  .spelling,  it  is  altogether  a  matter  of  memory: 
geography,  as  commonly  taught,  means  committing  to 
memory  a  mass  of  curiously  uninteresting  and  unimpor- 
tant facts,  while  arithmetic  is  the  least  remunerative  sub- 
ject in  elementary  education  as  now  conducted.  This  is 
certainly  a  discouraging  inventory.  Drawing,  manual 
training,  kindergarten  work,  and  Ics.sons  in  elementary 
.science  are  dismissed  with  ob.serving  that  they  are  recent 
additions  to  the  school  cour.se,  that  they  occupy  but  a 
small  part  of  the  whole  .school  time,  and  have  not  yet 
taken  full  effect  on  the  men  and  women  now  at  work  in 
the  world.     No  attempt  is  made  to  estimate  the  value  of 


PRESIDENT    ELIOT    ON    POPULAR    EDUCATION.      T51 

these  observational  studies.  Not  a  word  is  said  about  the 
language,  the  composition,  the  grammar,  or  the  history; 
the  last  two  he  would,  no  doubt,  dispose  of  much  as  he 
disposes  of  geography  and  arithmetic. 

Now  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  elementary  teachers 
of  the  country  fail  to  get  out  of  the  school  studies  th^ 
disciplinary  value  there  is  in  them.  Reading,  geography, 
and  history  maj-  be  particularly  mentioned.  Still,  it  must 
be  said  that  President  Eliot's  handling  of  the  studies  that 
he  mentions  does  not  do  justice  to-  the  work  that  is  now 
accomplished,  apparenth' because  his  standard  is  too  high. 
Speaking  of  the  whole  educational  system  from  top  to 
bottom,  he  says  "the  art  of  expressing  one's  thoughts 
clearly  and  vigorous!}'  in  the  mother  tongue  receives  com- 
paratively little  attention."  I  do  not  undertake  to  say 
how  the  young  men  who  now  enter  college  compare  with 
those  who  entered  it  a  generation  ago,  or  how  the  more 
cultivated  cla.sses  now  and  then  compare  in  respect  to 
ability  to  write  the  Engli.sli  language;  but  there  can  be 
no  question  that  the  mass  of  the  people  write  Engli-sh 
better  at  present  than  they  ever  did  before. 

The  judgment  pronounced  upon  .secondary  and  higher 
education  is  not  more  favorable  than  that  upon  elementary 
education.  Here  a  large  part  of  the  time  is  given  to  the 
study  of  languages,  which,  as  usually  conducted,  does 
little  for  the  pupil  but  develop  his  memory.  It  is  a 
rare  teacher  of  languages,  we  are  told,  who  makes  .such 
teaching  the  vehicle  of  much  thinking.  Nor  do  the 
other  studies  exercise  any  of  the  mental  faculties  vigor- 
ously but  the  memory.  In  the  higher  institutions  the 
cultivation  of  the  memory  also  predominates;  the  observ- 
ing, inferring,  and  reasoning  powers  are  subordinated. 
How  far  these  criticisms  are  true  is  a  matter  of  opinion, 
but  the  common  opinion  of  educated  men  is  no  doubt  con- 


152  STUDIES    IN    EDITATIOX. 

siderably  more  favorable  than  Dr.  Eliot' s.  He  lays  desenT'ed 
stress  upon  the  proposition  that  the  educational  value  of  a 
subject  depends  very  largely  upon  the  way  in  which  it  is 
taught.  "No  amount  of  memoriter  stiidy  of  language, 
and  no  attainments  in  arithmetic,''  he  says,  "will  protect 
a  man  or  woman—  except  imperfectly  through  a  certain 
indirect  cultivation  of  general  intelligence — from  succumb- 
ing to  the  first  plausible  delusion  or  sophism  he  or  she 
may  encounter.  No  amount  of  such  studies  will  protect 
one  from  believing  in  astrology,  or  theosophy,  or  free 
silver,  or  strikes,  or  boycotts,  or  in  the  persecution  of 
Jews  or  of  Mormons,  or  the  violent  exclusion  of  non- 
imion  men  from  employment- ' '  This  is  all  as  true  as  true 
can  be,  and  it  brings  us  at  once  to  the  questions:  What 
changes  should  be  made  in  our  curricula  and  methods  of 
teaching  in  order  to  get  a  fuller  development  of  the 
powers  of  judgment  and  reasoning?  How  can  the  school 
better  equip  the  people  of  the  land  to  deal  with  the  dan- 
gerous sophisms  and  fallacies  that  afflict  society  ?  We 
anxiously  turn  Dr.  Eliot's  pages  to  catch  his  answer  to 
the.se  important  questions.  His  formal  prescription  em- 
braces .seven  items. 

(1.)  We  must  make  practice  in  thinking  a  constant 
object  of  instruction  from  infancy  to  adult  age,  no  matter 
what  may  be  the  subject  of  instruction.  (2.  )  Wise  ex- 
tension can  be  given  to  the  few  ob.servational  studies  al- 
ready introduced  into  the  earl}- .school  grades.  (3.)  More 
time  can  be  given  to  the  practice  of  descriptive  and  argu- 
mentative writing.  (4.)  Those  subjects  that  give  practice 
in  the  cla.ssification  of  facts  and  in  induction  mu.st  be 
taught  in  schools,  not  from  books,  but  by  laboratory 
methods.  (').)  Not  only  should  the  time  devoted  to  his- 
torical .studies  for  older  pupils  be  nuich  increased,  but  the 


PRESIDENT    ELIOT    ON    POPULAR    EDUCATION.      1 53 

method  of  teaching  them  should  be  so  changed  as  to 
disciphne  the  logical  powers  of  the  mind.  (6.)  In  the 
higher  part  of  the  system  of  public  instruction,  political 
economy  and  sociology  should  receive  much  more  atten- 
tion than  at  present,  and  should  be  taught  as  disci- 
plinary subjects.  (7.)  Concrete  argumentation  should 
be  taught  in  schools  by  taking  up  and  analyzing  argu- 
ments that  have  actually  determined  the  course  of  trade, 
industries,  and  public  affairs,  such  as  Burke's  Speech 
on  the  Conciliation  of  America  and  Webster's  Reply  to 
Hayne. 

The  first  remark  that  this  prescription  calls  out  is,  that 
for  the  last  twenty  years  our  pedagogical  writers  and  lec- 
turers, almost  to  a  man,  have  laid  constant  stress  upon 
the  cultivation  of  the  powers  of  observation,  judgment, 
and  inference.  "Do  not  cram  but  develop,"  has  been 
more  thoroughly  dinned  into  the  ears  of  teachers  than  any 
other  single  pedagogical  precept  that  can  be  named,  and 
if  little  is  now  accomplished  in  the  schools  but  to  cram 
the  memory  the  educational  outlook  is  not  encouraging. 
President  Eliot's  remarks  might  lead  one  to  assume  that, 
relatively,  the  pupils  of  the  schools  are  now  full  of  empir- 
ical knowledge, — real  .store-houses  of  information— which 
every  person  familiar  with  the  facts  knows  is  not  the  case. 
The  school  children  of  the  land  do  not  know  any  more 
than  they  ought  to  know. 

The  second  observ^ation  is,  that  the  current  belittling 
of  the  memory  is  largely  unreasonable  and  mischievous. 
To  exalt  the  logical  faculties  is  all  right;  to  belittle  the 
faculties  of  retention  and  reproduction  is  all  wrong.  It  is 
not  impertinent  to  say  that  if  a  man  has  a  fine  memory, 
there  is  no  reason  why  he  should  be  ashamed  of  it.  Pro- 
fessor James  may  be  quoted  on  the  broader  aspect  of  this 
subject. 


154  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

No  one  probably  was  ever  effective  ou  a  voluminous  scale 
without  a  high  degree  of  this  physiological  retentiveness.  In  the 
practical  as  in  the  theoretic  life,  the  man  whose  acquisitions  stick 
is  the  man  who  is  always  achieving  and  advancing;  whilst  his 
neighbors,  spending  most  of  their  time  in  relearning  what  they 
once  knew  but  have  forgotten,  simply  hold  their  own.  A  Charle- 
magne, a  Luther,  a  Leibnitz,  a  Walter  Scott— any  example,  in 
short,  of  your  quarto  or  folio  editions  of  mankind — must  needs 
have  aiuazing  retentiveness  of  the  purely  physiological  sort.  Men 
without  this  retentiveness  may  excel  in  the  quality  of  their  work 
at  this  point  or  at  that,  but  will  never  do  such  mighty  sums  of  it, 
or  be  influential  contemporaneously  on  such  a  scale.  * 

This  point  having  been  duly  guarded,  there  is  no  reason 
why  we  should  not  accept  President  Eliot's  prescription 
and  thank  him  for  it.  Still  the  question  arises.  How  far 
are  his  ideas  practical  ? 

In  the  first  place,  all  those  suggestions  that  relate  ex- 
clusively to  the  real  higher  institutions  of  learning  can  l^e 
fully  carried  out.  It  is  very  desirable  to  qualif}^  the  lib- 
erally educated  men  of  the  country  to  do  sounder  think- 
ing than  they  now  do  on  political,  social,  and  economical 
subjects.  At  present,  as  is  v^^ell  known,  students  graduate 
from  college,  excellent  linguists,  chemists,  or  mathema- 
ticians it  ma}' be,  who.se  opinions  on  such  matters  are  little 
better  than  childi.sh.  More  than  this  even,  the  same  is  true 
of  many  .scientific  speciali.sts  and  other  professional  men. 
Still  more  difficult  is  the  question  that  relates  to  the  ele- 
mentary and  the  high  schools.  Relati\'ely ,  l:)Ut  few  Amer- 
ican 3'ouths  go  beyond  the  high  school,  or  even  beyond  the 
higher  elementary  grades;  and  unless  Dr.  Kliot's  prescrip- 
tion will  materially  affect  the.se  schools  beneficially  it  is  not 
going  to  do  much  directly  for  the  mas.ses  of  the  people. 

Here  we  must,  in  the  finst  place,  rule  out  the  last  three 
items  of  the  prescription.     Even  secondary  pupils  cannot 

^Psychology,  Vol.  I,  p.  fico. 


PRESIDENT    ELIOT    ON    POPULAR    EDUCATION.       1 55 

carry  on  the  higher  historical  studies;  the}'  can  do 
nothing  with  sociology  or  political  economy,  save  in  the 
most  empirical  fashion,  and  while  they  will  admire  the 
declamatory  passages  of  great  speeches,  like  Burke's  and 
Webster's,  they  cannot  follow  the  argumentation. 

In  the  second  place,  much  the  larger  share  of  the  im- 
provement to  be  effected  in  these  schools  must  come  from 
better  teaching  of  the  old  and  tried  subjects.     In  the  early 
grades,  and  indeed  to  the  end  of  the  grades,   great  stress 
must   be  laid   on  the   memory.     Only  in   this  way  will 
the   child  retain  what  he  is  taught  and  what  he  learns 
for    himself,    and    thus    accumulate  a  store  of  material 
upon   which    he    can    exercise    his    powers  of    compar- 
ison, judgment,  and  inference.      All   the  higher  mental 
operations   are  dependent  upon   retention  and   reproduc- 
tion.      Stimulation    of    the    logical  faculties  should  be- 
gin with  the  first  grade,  and  should  become  more  and  more 
energetic  as  the  pupil  ascends  the  grades.     A  great  deal  of 
work  must  be  done  in  school  that  involves  but  little  in- 
telligence, as  to  acquire  the  mechanical  elements  of  reading, 
spelling,  and  writing;  but  such  studies  as  reading,  compo- 
sition,   geography,    history,     mathematics,     elementary 
sciences,  literature,  and  language  can  be  made  disciplinar3\ 
Language  as  the  substance  of  thought  is  more  important 
than  language  as  the  form  of  thought,  or  as  a  fine  art. 
The  teacher  of  Cicero  should  require  his  pupils  to  follow 
the  sequence  of  the  argument,  as  well  as  to  observe  the 
grammatical  construction  of  the  language  in  which  it  is 
clothed.     Besides,  while  pupils  in  the  upper  grades  and 
in  high  schools  can  no  more  carry  one  of  Webster's  con- 
stitutional arguments  than  Milo  could  have  shouldered 
the   ox   the   first   morning  that  he  lifted  the  calf,  they 
can  deal  with  inferior  but  still  useful  forms  of  argumen- 
tation. 


156  STUDIES    IX    EDUCATION. 

Whether  the  so-called  observational  studies,  such  as 
drawing,  manual  training,  and  elementar}^  vScience,  should 
receive  considerably  more  attention  than  at  present,  I 
am  less  anxious  to  inquire  than  I  am  to  examine  an 
assumption  underhung  the  affirmative  repl}'  that  is  often 
given  to  it.  This  is  the  assumption  that  the  menta) 
forces,  like  light,  heat,  and  electricit}',  are  convertible 
one  into  another;  or,  perhaps  it  were  better  to  sa)',  that 
mental  power  is  fully  generic. 

Power  or  skill  resulting  from  an}'  kind  of  exercise  may 
be  considered  under  two  aspects,  one  specific  and  one 
generic.  The  strength  that  a  gymnast  accumulates  in 
bowling  is  all  usable  in  bowling,  but  it  is  only  partially 
and  secondarily  usable  in  running  or  in  rowing.  The 
power  engendered  b}-  solving  mathematical  problems  can 
all  be  emploj-ed  in  carrjnng  on  mathematical  work,  but 
only  a  part  of  it  is  available  in  studying  language  or  his- 
tory. The  extent  to  which  power  created  by  such  exer- 
cise is  convertible  —  that  is,  the  extent  to  which  it  is  gen- 
eric ■ —  depends  largely  upon  the  degree  of  congruity  ex- 
isting between  the  first  and  second  forms  of  activit3^ 
Plahily,  if  a  man's  powers  were  fully  convertible  they 
would  all  be  equal.  Such,  brief!}'  stated,  is  a  law  that  is 
not  sufficiently  regarded  either  in  educational  practice  or 
in  educational  discussion.  This  law  President  Eliot 
sometimes  seems  to  have  distinctly  in  mind.  He  says, 
for  example,  that  no  amount  of  memoriter  study  will 
directly  arm  a  man  against  a.strology,theosoph3^,free  silver, 
strikes,  boycotts,  or  the  persecution  of  Jews  and  Mormons. 
"  One  is  fortified,"  he  goes  on  to  say,  "  against  the  ac- 
ceptance of  unusual  propositions  only  by  .skill  in  determin- 
ing facts  through  observation  and  experience,  by  practice 
in  comparing  facts  or  groups  of  facts,  and  by  the  imvar\-- 
ing  habit  of  questioning  and  verifying  allegations,  and  of 


PRESIDENT    ELIOT    ON    POPULAR    EDUCATION,       I  57 

distinguishing  between  the  facts  and  inferences  from  the 
facts,  and  a  true  cause  and  an  antecedent  cause."     While 
this  is  excellent,  he  should  have  added  that  skill  acquired 
by  observing  facts  of  one  kind  and  by  drawing  inferences 
from  them,  is  not  whoUj^  convertible  into  skill  in  dealing 
with  a  different  kind  of  facts.  Of  course,  observation,  com- 
parison, and  inference  are  much  better  than  memory  in 
such  a  case.     But  again,  he  sometimes  seems   wholly   to 
lose  sight  of  the  law  of  specific  and  generic  results.     He 
says  the  savage  has  abundant  practice  in  observ^ation,  for 
he  gets  his  daily  food  only  by  the  keenest  exercise  of  his 
senses.     It  may  be  said  with  equal  truth  that  the  savage's 
boasted  power  of  observation  is  a  specialized  and  there- 
fore a  limited  power;  introduced  into  London,  the  savage 
is  far  less  observant  than  a  cockney,  and  left  to  himself 
would  soon  starve  to  death.     Again,  we  are  told  "that  it 
does  not  matter  what  subject  the  child  studies,  so  that  he 
studies  something  thoroughly  in  an  observational  method. 
If  the  method  be  right,   it  does  not  matter   among  the 
numerous  subjects  well  fitted  to  develop  this  important 
faculty  which  he  chooses  or  which  be  chosen  for  him. ' ' 
This  may  be  true  as  respects  method;   but  there  is  no 
method  of  observ^ation  that  can  take  the  place  of  personal 
contact  with  the  facts  themselves.     While  precision,  pa- 
tience, and  verification  are  of  general  value,  it  would  be 
very  far  from  true  to  say  that  good  scientific  observ^ers,  in 
their   several   fields,    are  necessarily   good  observers  in 
respect  to  politics,  manners  and  customs,  and  business 
affairs;  or  vice  versa.     It  is  indeed  a  question  how  far 
habits  of  observation  formed  in  the  fields  of  nature  serve  a 
man  in  the  fields  of  humanity.     And  so  it  is  with  the 
logical  faculties.  There  is  no  method  or  form  of  observation 
or  reasoning  that  a  man  can  acquire  and  then  effectively 
turn,   like  a  swivel  gun,  in  any  direction  that  he  pleases. 


150  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

We  are  therefore  led  to  ask,  How  far  can  the  studies 
now  taught  in  schools  be  made  directly  to  qualify  pupils 
to  deal  with  the  highly  special  and  concrete  delusions  and 
fallacies  that  President  Eliot  enumerates  ?  First,  how- 
ever, let  it  be  said  that  if  any  one  doubts  the  validity  of 
the  conclusion  that  has  been  reached  in  regard  to  the  spe- 
cific and  the  generic,  he  should  ponder  such  questions  as 
these:  Are  mathematicians  less  liable  to  fall  into  popular 
delusions  and  sophisms  than  philologists?  Do  chemists 
enjoy  any  special  immunity  from  fiat  money  and  free  sil- 
ver? Are  physicists,  botanists,  geologists,  and  astrono- 
mers particularly  skillful  in  reaching  sound  conclusions  in 
regard  to  strikes  and  boycotts  ?  Has  the  persecution  of  the 
Jews  in  Germany  been  confined  to  men  taught  in  the  hu- 
manistic gymnasia  ?  Have  students  trained  in  American 
schools  of  science  shown  special  aptitude  in  dealing  with 
the  Mormon  question  ?  In  general,  are  those  persons 
who  cultivate  the  observational  studies  particularly  expert 
in  escaping  the  snares  that  bad  politicians  and  other 
charlatans  set  for  our  feet  ?  No  disparagement  of  scien- 
tific studies  or  of  scientific  methods  lurks  in  these  ques- 
tions; their  sole  purpose  is  to  show  that  the  relation  of 
these  studies  to  social  affairs,  outside  of  special  lines,  is 
less  intimate  than  many  people  assert. 

Only  practice  in  observing,  comparing,  and  judging 
human  facts  —  facts  into  which  freedom,  and  so  probabil- 
ity, enter  — can  fit  a  man  in  an  eminent  degree  for  deal- 
ing with  social  delusions  and  fallacies.  The  school  studies 
that  lie  proximate  to  such  experience  as  this  in  the  field 
of  real  life,  fall  into  the  historical  and  philosophical 
groups.  The  student  who  has  rightly  studied  history, 
sociology,  and  political  economy  should  be  able  to  deal 
cff'ectively  with  social  and  political  questions;  but  even 
the.se  studies  will  not  confer  the  Dowcr  to  do  .so  if  they  are 


PRESIDENT    ELIOT    ON    POPULAR    EDLCATIOK.       159 

pursued  in  a  merely  formal  and  abstract  manner.  The 
studies  that  lie  outside  of  these  groups  can  equip  the  citi  - 
zen  for  social  and  political  action  only  imperfectly,  through 
a  certain  indirect  cultivation  of  general  intelligence  and 
logical  acumen.  Some  studies  will  do  more  in  this  direc- 
tion, others  less;  but  the  more  closely  they  relate  to  hu- 
manity, the  more  they  will  do.  This  is  why  literature 
properl)^  taught  is  so  valuable  as  a  discipline. 

Shall  we  then  enlarge  the  kindergarten  work,  the  draw- 
ing, and  the  manual  training  in  the  public  schools  ? 
While  much  can  be  said  in  favor  of  the  proposition  on 
some  grounds,  I  fear  that  little  can  be  said  on  the  ground 
that  these  studies  will  quickly  bring  the  free-silver  proph- 
ets to  confusion,  or  that  they  will  afford  increased  secu- 
rity for  the  Jews  in  Berlin  or  for  the  Mormons  in  Utah. 
lyCt  the  man  who  disputes  this  judgment  show  how  han- 
dling the  "  gifts,"  or  doubling  up  pieces  of  colored  paper 
in  a  kindergarten,  or  how  drawing,  or  handling  ax, 
hammer,  and  saw  in  a  manual  training  school,  lightens 
his  pathway  when  he  walks  up  to  the  ballot-box  on  elec- 
tion day.  Are  union  workmen  in  paper-box  factories  more 
regardful  of  the  rights  of  non-union  workmen  than  union 
men  in  other  industries  ?  Do  men  who  handle  tools  never 
strike  or  engage  in  boycotts?  Are  engineers  who  use 
drawing  instruments  panoplied  against  astrologers  and 
fortune-tellers  ?  And  do  they  never  accept  absurdities  in 
regard  to  the  origin  of  the  English  system  of  weights  and 
measures  or  of  the  Great  Pyramid  ? 

Then  it  should  be  remarked  that  superior  mental  ma- 
turity and  superior  instructors  are  not  the  only  advantages 
which  college  students  enjoy  over  students  in  lower  schools: 
there  is  also  more  liberty  of  thinking.  Notwithstanding 
the  efforts  that  newspapers,  politicians,  and  occasional 
patrons  have    sometimes   made  to   put   stoppers    in    the 


l6o  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

mouths  of  professors  of  political  economy,  there  yet 
exists  a  large  measure  of  academical  freedom.  Still,  some 
professors  feel  it  necessary  to  be  circumspect  in  dealing 
with  certain  economical  and  financial  fallacies  that 
threaten  society.  And  it  would  hardly  be  safe  to  intro- 
duce into  the  public  high  schools  a  course  entitled  ' '  Pop- 
ular Delusions."  In  those  schools  a  teacher  could,  no 
doubt,  work  his  will  upon  the  tulip  craze,  the  Mississippi 
Scheme,  the  South  Sea  Bubble,  Continental  money,  viul- 
ticatdis,  and  blue  glass,  but  prudence  would  counsel  him 
to  deal  gently  with  protection  and  free-silver,  and  to  leave 
theosophy  and  Christian  Science  wholly  alone. 

The  standard  of  measurement  for  the  vSchools  that  Pres- 
ident Eliot  sets  up  is  the  qualification  of  those  who  have 
attended  them  to  discharge  their  social  duties  and  to  deal 
with  social  and  political  problems.  He  never  tires  of  tell- 
ing us  that  the  schools  do  not  prevent  strikes  and  boycotts, 
fallacies  relating  to  silver  and  the  tariff,  theosophy  and 
Christian  Science,  or  drive  astrologers  and  bone-setters 
out  of  business.  This  test,  although  a  severe  one,  is  per- 
fectly fair  when  it  is  properly  explained  and  qualified. 
Assuredly,  unless  society  is  becoming  more  reasonable 
and  human  the  State  has  little  encouragement  to  perse- 
vere in  providing  free  education  for  the  people.  How- 
ever, to  measure  the  extent  to  which  popular  education 
has  qualified  the  masses  of  our  people  to  deal  with  social 
fallacies  and  delusions  is  a  difficult  undertaking.  It  is 
also  an  undertaking  that  cannot  be  entered  upon  in  this 
place,  but  two  facts  or  groups  of  facts  may  be  stated  that 
will  at  once  show  wh}-  it  is  difficult,  and  also  explain  in  part 
why  greater  progress  has  not  been  made  in  that  direction. 

First,  the  .social  and  political  problems  that  arise  in  a 
large  and  highly  organized  society  are  never  easy.     To 


PRESIDENT    ELIOT    ON    POPULAR    EDUCATION,       l6l 

deal  with  them  effectively  is  the  highest  test  of  knowl- 
edge and  mature  discipline.  They  are  not  questions  for 
boys  or  half-educated  men,  but  for  well-educated  men;  at 
least  this  is  true  of  the  more  difficult  of  them.  For 
example,  there  are  few  men  at  any  time  who  are  compe- 
tent judges  of  a  revenue,  educational,  or  financial  system. 
Of  those  who  hold  what  Dr.  Eliot  would  consider  sound 
opinions  on  the  currency,  a  majorit}^  are  largely  guided 
by  authority.  Besides,  the  enormous  social  and  political 
changes  that  have  been  accomplished  in  a  hundred  years, 
and  notably  in  our  own  country,  have  greatly  increased 
the  number  and  difficulty  of  such  problems.  Such  causes 
as  the  growth  of  knowledge,  the  progress  of  invention, 
the  extension  of  the  area  of  civilization,  the  increase  in 
the  numbers  and  in  the  density  of  our  population,  have 
added  immensely  to  the  scope  and  complexity  of  society. 
In  respect  to  commerce  and  trade,  industries,  the  division 
of  labor,  education,  transportation,  literature  and  the 
press,  benevolent  and  reformatory  agencies  and  institu- 
tions, social  life,  and  the  distribution  of  wealth,  how  won- 
derfully heterogeneous  American  life  has  become  !  Could 
the  Americans  of  the  last  century  be  suddenly  introduced 
to  the  America  of  to-day,  the}-  would  show  a  confusion 
similar  to  that  shown  by  savages  when  conducted  through 
the  streets  of  a  great  city.  The  country  moves  at  such 
speed  that  even  well-educated  men  cannot  maintain  the 
pace  and  keep  fully  abreast  of  the  questions  and  issues 
that  concern  them.  The  work  of  legislation  constantly 
becomes  more  difficult  and  trying  both  in  quantity  and 
quality.  Compare  the  legislation  enacted  by  the  General 
Court  of  Massachusetts,  or  by  Congress,  in  the  year  1792 
with  that  enacted  in  1892.  Still  more,  compare  the  legis- 
lation proposed  in  the  first  year  with  that  proposed  in  the 
second.    Nor  does  the  constant  enlargement  of  our  admin- 


1 62  STUDIES    IX    EDUCATION. 

istrative  and  judicial  systems  prevent  increasing  complaints 
of  poor  and  insufficient  service. 

Secondly,  at  the  same  time  that  our  society  has  been 
becoming  more  and  more  heterogeneous  it  has  been  becom- 
ing more  and  more  democratized.  Many  conservative 
checks  and  balances  that  existed  a  century  ago  have  been 
swept  away  and  others  have  become  mere  fictions.  For 
the  first  time  in  historj-  a  democracy  of  sixty-five  millions 
of  people,  far  advanced  in  social  differentiation,  is  acting 
upon  the  stage  of  the  world's  affairs.  Still  more,  since 
democracy  tends  to  weaken  authority,  expert  knowledge 
and  opinion  are  generally  undervalued.  No  doubt  twelve 
Americans  sitting  in  a  jury-box  pay  as  much  heed  to  a 
chemist  who  swears  that  he  found  arsenic  in  a  dead  man's 
stomach  as  the  same  number  of  Frenchmen  or  Germans; 
but  they  certainly  pay  much  less  heed  to  educational 
and  financial  experts.  The  result  is,  that  we  cannot 
alwa3'S  command  the  best  knowledge  or  the  best  thought 
that  is  current.  For  instance,  the  courses  of  instruction 
sent  out  by  ministers  of  education  from  Paris,  Dresden,  and 
BerHn  better  represent  the  highest  pedagogical  thought  of 
France,  Saxony,  and  Prussia  than  those  adopted  by  our 
thousands  of  school  boards  and  school  committees  repre- 
sent our  highest  thought.  The  German  States  manage 
their  educational  affairs  and  their  financial  affairs  better 
than  we  manage  ours;  but  who,  for  a  moment,  supposes 
that  a  democratized  German  nation,  holding  such  vast  in- 
terests as  ours  in  the  hollow  of  its  hand,  and  also  such  vast 
resources,  would  conduct  them  with  more  intelligence  and 
reason  ?  It  is  further  to  be  observed  that  a  democratic 
society  where  elementary  education  is  universal,  is  the 
best  possible  hotbed  for  the  generation  of  crude  theories, 
specious  sophisms,  and  delusive  hopes,  particularly  w^hen 
human  possibilities  are  so  great  as  in  the  United  States. 


PRESIDENT    ELIOT    OX    POPULAR    EDUCATION'.       1 63 

The  Athenians  were  the  freest,  the  most  intellectual,  and 
the  best  educated  people  of  antiquity:  Athens  also 
afforded  the  rhetorician,  the  sophist,  and  the  demagogue 
unrivaled  opportunities. 

Then  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  other  factors  than 
reason  and  knowledge  pla}'  an  important  part  in  human 
life.  Not  many  of  the  sophisms  that  ensnare  men  reall}' 
have  their  tap-roots  in  bad  thinking;  for  the  most  part 
they  spring  out  of  the  interests,  feelings,  and  passions  of 
men.  "The  human  understanding,"  says  lyord  Bacon, 
"is  no  dr)^  light,  but  receives  an  infusion  from  the  will 
and  affections;  whence  proceed  sciences  which  may  be 
called  'sciences  as  one  would.'  For  what  a  man  had 
rather  were  true  he  more  readily  believes.  Therefore  he 
rejects  difficult  things  from  impatience  of  research;  sober 
things,  because  they  narrow  hope;  the  deeper  things  of 
nature,  from  superstition;  the  light  of  experience,  from 
arrogance  and  pride,  lest  his  mind  should  seem  to  be  occu- 
pied with  things  mean  and  transitor>';  things  not  com- 
monly believed,  out  of  deference  to  the  opinion  of  the 
vulgar.  Numberless  in  short  are  the  ways,  and  some- 
times imperceptible,  in  which  the  affections  color  and 
infect  the  understanding."^  Another  Baconian  phrase  is 
"drenched  and  blooded;"  and  a  recent  writer,  applying 
it  to  philosophies  of  life,  says  it  is  hard  to  decide 
how  much  is  observation  and  how  much  hope,  and 
whether  the  Hfe  is  more  determined  by  the  philosophy 
or  the  philosophy  by  the  life."  Herbert  Spencer  thus 
expresses  the  same  fact,  perhaps  in  an  exaggerated 
form:  "Ideas  do  not  govern  the  world;  the  world  is 
governed  by  feelings,  to  which  ideas  serve  only  as 
guides. ' ' 


_l 


^Novnm  Organuin,  XLIX. 

^Mackenzie:  An  Introduction  to  Social  Philosophy,  p. 


164  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

It  is  almost  needless  to  remark  that  the  questions  which 
Dr.  Eliot  uses  for  illustration  are  "  drenched  and  blooded' ' 
questions.  The  advocates  of  fiat-money  and  free  silver, 
for  example,  may  be  roughly  divided  into  the  honest  and 
dishonest,  the  first  being  much  the  larger  class;  but  it 
must  be  said  that  the  thinking  of  the  honest  class  is  in- 
fluenced or  dominated  by  interest  or  other  feelings.  The 
subtle  fallacies  that  lurk  around  the  subject  of  mone}'  play 
with  peculiar  effect  upon  a  mind  that  wants  to  believe 
them,  especialh'  if  it  is  badly  disciplined  and  informed. 
We  may  be  perfectly  certain  that  sophisms  and  delusions 
which  ignorance  and  bad  logic  have  not  directly  caused, 
knowledge  and  good  logic  will  not  directly  correct.  Such 
correction  can  be  effected  only  indirectl)',  by  enlarging 
and  purifying  the  common  intelligence. 

What  follows  then  ?  That  our  social  ills  are  incapable 
of  further  amelioration?  Not  so.  Such  ameliorations 
have  been  effected,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that 
we  have  reached  their  limit.  We  need  not  doubt  that  the 
American  people  are  managing  their  affairs  better  than 
any  people  that  has  preceded  them  could  have  managed 
them;  or  that,  as  our  education  improves  in  quality,  as  our 
civilization  becomes  more  mature,  as  the  people  become 
better  able  to  sift  and  to  winnow  what  passes  for  knowl- 
edge, and  particularly  as  they  are  constrained  to  pay 
more  attention  to  the  experience  of  the  past,  they  will 
learn  to  manage  them  still  better.  But  there  is  nothing 
in  human  nature  or  in  human  experience  that  points  to 
the  conclusion  that  fallacies,  sophisms,  and  delusions  will 
not  always  abound,  or  that  education  will  ever  fully 
neutralize  them.  Democracy  is  not  a  perpetual  motion, 
or  education  a  panacea.  On  the  other  hand,  the  intelli- 
gent and  reasonable,  the  wise  and  disinterested,  must 
always  stand  guard  over  the  interests  of  society. 


PRESIDENT    ELIOT    ON    POPULAR    EDUCATION.      1 65 

Perhaps  it  is  not  impertinent  to  observe  that  I  have  not 
confined  my  remarks  strictly  to  Dr.  Eliot's  article.  I 
have  combated  views  that  he  has  not  expressed,  and  that 
I  have  no  reason  to  suppose  that  he  holds.  They  are 
views,  however,  that  relate  to  the  topics  which  he  handles. 
Still  more,  I  have  brought  forward  topics  that  he  has  not 
mooted,  because  I  consider  their  consideration  essential  to 
the  full  discussion  of  the  main  subject. 


VII. 

THE  PEDAGOGICAL  CHAIR  IN  THE 
UNIVERSITY  AND  COLLEGE/ 


jEDAGOGICAL  instruction  has  long  been 
given  in  the  principal  universities  of  Germany. 
Since  1876  the  Bell  Chairs  of  the  Theory, 
History,  and  Art  of  Education  have  existed 
in  the  Universities  of  St.  Andrews  and  Edinburgh,  Scot- 
land, and  still  more  recently  similar  chairs  have  been 
established  in  several  of  the  universities  of  the  United 
States.  The  object  of  this  paper  is  to  justify  the  existence 
of  these  chairs;  not  pedagogical  instruction  or  pedagogical 
chairs  in  general,  but  such  instruction  and  such  chairs 
in  the  university  and  college. 

At  the  outset,  attention  may  be  drawn  to  three  historical 
facts.  Germany  leads  the  world  in  scholarship  and 
scientific  research,  and  particularly  in  the  cultivation  of 
educational  science;  Scotland,  also,  is  a  classic  land  of 
learning  and  of  schools;  moreover,  our  American  chairs  of 
pedagogy  are  a  result  of  the  widest  and  profoundest  in- 
terest in  educational  subjects  known  to  our  history. 
These  facts  are  very  significant,  creating  a  strong  pre- 
sumption that  these  German,  Scottish,  and  American 
professorships  are  not  the  result  of  ignorance  or  accident, 
but  of  a  felt  need  and  intelligent  choice.     From  the  high 

'  A  paper  read  before  the  Normal  Department  of  the  National 
Educational  Association,  Nashville,  Tenu.,  July,  1889. 

166 


THE    PEDAGOGICAL    CHAIR.  167 

vantage-ground  of  this  presumption  the  broader  aspects 
of  the  subject  will  be  surveyed. 

The  word  '  'education' '  is  one  of  the  most  plastic  and 
flexible  in  the  language.  It  is  used  dynamically  and 
statically,  in  a  collective  and  an  individual  sense.  Ex- 
cluding all  life  but  human  life,  also  the  collective  and  the 
static  senses,  we  find  the  word  employed  in  three  different 
acceptations. 

1.  The  process  of  transformation  wrought  in  a  man  by 
all  the  agents  and  powers  that  act  on  him,  of  whatever 
kind,  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave;  as  well  those  that  con- 
stitute his  natural  and  social  environments  as  those  that 
constitute  the  home  and  the  school;  as  well  those  that  are 
blind,  unconscious,  and  unpremeditated  as  those  that  are 
intelligent,  conscious,  and  premeditated. 

2.  The  process  of  transformation  wrought  in  a  man  by 
the  premeditated  action  of  society,  with  a  view  of  develop- 
ing his  powers  and  moulding  his  character;  such  efforts 
being  put  forth  more  especially  in  his  infancj^  and  youth. 

3.  The  process  of  transformation  wrought  in  a  man, 
mostly  in  his  youth  and  plastic  years,  by  governors  and 
tutors,  and  particularly  in  schools  of  some  sort. 

The  first  of  these  definitions  includes  both  the  others; 
the  second  includes  the  third.  Just  how  much  of  the 
whole  field  the  science  of  education  covers,  and  whether 
this  science  and  pedagogy  are  coextensive,  are  questions 
not  definitely  settled.  ' '  A  complete  history  of  education, ' ' 
says  Compayr^,  "would  embrace  in  its  vast  developments, 
the  entire  record  of  the  intellectual  and  moral  culture  of 
mankind  at  all  periods  and  in  all  countries.  It  would  be 
a  resume  of  the  life  of  humanity  in  its  diverse  manifesta- 
tions, literary  and  scientific,  religious  and  political.  It 
would  determine  the  causes,  so  numerous  and  so  diverse, 


ibS  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION, 

which  act  upon  the  characters  of  men,  and  which,  modi- 
fj'ing  a  common  endowment,  produce  beings  as  dififerent 
as  are  a  contemporary  of  Pericles  and  a  modern  European, 
a  Frenchman  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  a  Frenchman  sub- 
sequent to  the  Revolution."^  The  extreme  limits  of  this 
field  are  determined  by  such  inquiries  as  those  that  have 
engaged  the  attention  of  Mr.  E.  B.  Tylor  and  Sir  John 
Lubbock,  on  the  one  hand,  and  such  speculations  and 
visions  as  those  of  Plato,  Gerson,  and  Swedenborg,  on 
the  other.  A  history  of  education  in  this  sense  would  be, 
as  CompajT^  remarks,  "a  sort  of  philosophy  of  historj^, 
to  which  nothing  would  be  foreign,  and  which  would 
scrutinize  in  its  most  varied  and  most  trifling  causes,  as 
well  as  in  its  most  profound  sources,  the  moral  life  of 
humanity."  The  university  cultivates  this  vast  field, 
although  not  under  the  name  of  a  single  science.  The 
chairs  of  anthropology,  histor}',  archaeology  and  antiqui- 
ties, philosophy,  literature,  philology,  ethics,  comparative 
religion,  jurisprudence,  economics,  and  politics  mark  its 
most  important  subdivisions.  No  one  denies  the  univer- 
sity's right  to  investigate  or  teach  every  one  of  these  sub- 
jects. But  when,  with  M.  Compayre,  we  throw  out  the 
''occult  coadjutors  of  education — climate,  race,  manners, 
social  condition,  political  institutions,  religious  beliefs," 
and  narrow  the  field  to  the  '  'premeditated  action  which 
the  will  of  one  man  exercises  over  other  men  in  order  to 
instruct  them  and  train  them";  or  when,  with  Dr.  Bain, 
we  throw  out  still  other  factors,  and  confine  the  science 
of  education  to  the  "arts  and  methods  emplo3-ed  by  the 
schoolmaster,"  as  tj^pifying  the  educational  process  in  its 
greatest  singleness  and  puritj'^ — when  this  is  done,  is  the 
remaining  territory  the  proper  subject  of  university  in- 

*  The  History  of  Pedagogy. — Introduction. 
^Education  as  a  Science,  p.  G. 


THE    PEDAGOGICAL    CHAIR.  169 

vestigation  and  instruction  ?  So  long  as  the  university- 
investigates  and  teaches  the  ideas,  habits,  customs,  gov- 
ernments, and  religions  of  the  lowest  savages— that  is,  the 
whole  compass  of  their  culture — it  will  be  difficult  to  deny 
its  right  to  treat  with  equal  respect  the  educational  ideas, 
theories,  methods,  appliances,  and  systems  of  the  most 
highly  civilized  nations. 

By  common  consent  the  university  has  two  great  func- 
tions. One  of  these  is  research,  the  discovery  of  truth; 
the  other  is  instruction,  the  practice  of  the  art  of  teach- 
ing; that  is,  the  university  first  finds  out  truth  and  then 
gives  it  forth.  The  two  interact.  Furthermore,  the 
university  not  only  practices  research,  but  it  makes  re- 
search itself  the  object  of  study  and  investigation.  Science 
becomes  conscious  and  reflective,  and  laj-s  bare  all  her 
processes  and  methods.  Whj-,  then,  .should  it  not  inves- 
tigate and  teach  its  other  function,  that  of  teaching  ?  Why 
should  an  institution  that  exists  for  the  sake  of  investi- 
gating the  arts  and  sciences  leave  its  own  peculiar  art 
neglected  and  despised  ? 

But  education  is  much  more  than  a  great  and  difficult 
art:  it  is  a  noble  science.  Back  of  its  methods,  processes, 
and  systems  are  facts,  ideas,  principles,  and  theories — 
in  fact,  whole  systems  of  philosophy.  As  Rosenkranz 
remarks,  pedagogy  cannot  be  deduced  from  a  single  prin- 
ciple with  such  strictness  as  logic  and  ethics,  but  is  a 
mixed  science,  like  medicine,  deriving  its  presuppositions 
from  other  sciences,^  as  physiology,  psychology,  logic, 
esthetics,  ethics,  and  sociology.  It  is  therefore  conditioned 
on  some  of  the  noblest  of  the  .sciences,  especially  those 
of  the  moral  group.     The  very  fact  that  it  is  a  mixed 

1  The  Philosophy  of  Education,  p.  1.  Translated  by  Anna  C. 
Brackett. 


170  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

science  adds  to  its  difficulty,  and  emphasizes  the  demand 
for  its  cultivation.  It  is  hard  to  see  how  the  university, 
whose  admitted  function  is  education,  can  pass  by  the 
science,  art,  and  history  of  education  without  discrediting 
its  own  work  and  virtually  denying  its  own  name.  To 
practice  the  art  while  refusing  to  cultivate  or  teach  the 
science  of  teaching,  is  little  better  than  rank  empiricism. 

The  last  argument  derives  additional  strength  from  the 
peculiar  stage  of  education  upon  which  the  foremost 
nations  and  countries  have  now  entered.  Education  has 
at  last  reached  the  reflective  or  scientific  stage-  Throw- 
ing off  the  clutch  of  the  empiricist,  she  has  ascended  to  her 
long-vacant  seat  in  the  famil}^  of  the  sciences.  Evidences 
of  this  are  the  increased  attention  paid  to  education  by 
text-writers  on  psj'-chology  and  ethics,  the  later  pedago- 
gical literature,  the  more  vS5'stematic  and  rational  methods 
of  instruction  in  schools,  and  the  rapidly- increasing  facili- 
ties for  teaching  educational  science.  Thus  the  very 
existence  of  the  chair  is  a  proof  of  its  usefulness  and  its 
necessity.  On  this  ground  alone — indeed,  on  the  nar- 
rower ground  of  endowing  research — the  chair  can  be 
fully  vindicated. 

Again,  education  has  a  history.  In  the  very  broadest 
sense,  as  we  have  seen,  the  field  of  educational  historj'  is 
the  field  of  human  culture;  and  even  when  limited,  as 
before,  to  the  con.scious  work  of  teachers  in  schools,  it 
still  presents  whole  series  of  facts,  problems,  and  lessons 
of  the  greatest  interest  and  importance.  Before  the 
teacher  lies  the  whole  field  of  .school-life,  from  the  simple 
prophets'  and  priests'  schools  of  early  times  to  the  highly 
developed  schools  and  school  .sj'stems  of  Europe  and 
America.  While  education  belongs  to  general  history, 
the  study  of  which  is  pursued  for  its  culture  value,  it  has 
been  almost  wholly  neglected.     The  writer  and   lecturer 


THE    PEDAGOGICAL   CHAIR.  I71 

on  general  historj-  do  indeed  touch  the  education  of  the 
ancients,  and  make  mention  of  the  Medieval  universities; 
they  pay  some  attention  to  the  marvelous  educational 
developments  of  modern  times;  but  they  lay  much  more 
emphasis  on  subjects  of  far  inferior  interest.  But  educa- 
tion should  be  made  the  subject  of  special  historical 
study  as  much  as  religion,  art,  or  politics.  Were  it  as 
thoroughly  investigated  as  the  Polytechnic  School  of 
Munich  investigates  engineering  (maintaining  forty- 
five  distinct  courses  of  lectures  in  that  science),  the 
history  of  education  alone  would  tax  the  resources  of 
the  most  learned  and  laborious  professor.  It  is  not  con- 
tended that  the  chair  of  pedagogy  can  at  present  cul- 
tiv-ate  this  field  as  carefully  as  this  allusion  may  imply; 
but  certainly  here  are  topics  of  the  greatest  interest  and 
importance,  that  demand  admission  to  the  university  list 
on  an  equal  footing  with  other  subjects  of  historical 
investigation.  So  long  as  the  history  of  education  is 
a  means  of  education,  so  long  will  it  continue  a  proper 
university  study. 

Thus  far  the  argument  has  been  theoretical,  resting  on 
the  speculative  need  of  investigating  the  science,  art,  and 
history  of  teaching,  and  on  their  educational  value.  But 
the  practical  phases  of  the  subject  must  also  be  presented. 

1.  Even  if  the  work  done  by  the  pedagogical  chair 
should  pay  no  immediate  attention  to  the  preparation  of 
teachers,  it  could  not  fail  to  be  of  much  practical  value. 
The  scientific  study  and  teaching  of  a  science  and  an  art, 
in  their  purely  theoretical  aspects,  always  promote  the 
practice  of  the  art;  and  the  presence  in  every  university 
in  the  land  of  a  pedagogical  professor,  thoroughly  de- 
voted to  his  chair,  could  not  fail  to  quicken  interest  in 
the  subject  and  to  promote  the  teaching  art. 


172  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

2.  While  it  is  a  serious  error  to  hold  the  university  to 
be  nierel}'  a  place  of  instruction,  and  to  overlook  research 
— an  error  that  is  only  too  common  in  the  United  States — 
instruction  is  still  one  of  its  grand  functions.  It  is  en- 
gaged in  teaching  the  highest  branches  of  knowledge. 
Its  professors  hold  their  chairs  by  reason  of  their  profes- 
sional ability,  as  well  as  by  reason  of  their  learning. 
Where,  then,  may  the  science,  the  history,  and  the  art  of 
teaching  be  so  properly  taught  as  where  the  art  flourishes 
in  a  high  form  ? 

3,  The  conditions  of  pedagogical  study  existing  in  the 
university,  taken  all  together,  are  the  best  that  exist  any- 
where. First,  the  university  offers  the  student  a  varied 
curriculum  from  which  to  choose  collateral  studies.  Sec- 
ondly, it  illustrates  teaching  in  all  the  branches  of  liberal, 
and  in  many  branches  of  technical,  study.  Thirdl5^  the 
library,  which  furnishes  an  extensive  apparatus  for  gen- 
eral as  well  as  special  .stud}',  is  an  invaluable  facility. 
Fourthly,  the  university  is  the  home  of  liberal  studies; 
its  traditions  and  associations  are  conduci\'e  to  cultivation, 
and  the  .student  in  residence  finds  him.self  in  the  mid.st  of 
a  learned  and  cultivated  .society. 

This  point  is  deserving  of  a  more  elaborate  .statement. 
It  is  well  known  that  special  schools  tend  at  once  to  depth 
and  narrowness;  intension  is  secured  at  the  expen.se  of 
extension.  This  is  necessar}'  to  a  degree;  but  if  the  pro- 
cess is  carried  too  far,  mischievous  results  follow.  Hence 
the  advantage  of  uniting  the  professional  school  with  the 
school  of  liberal  studies  —an  advantage  greater  now  than 
ever  before,  because  scholars,  men  of  science,  and  teach- 
ers are  pushing  .specialization  to  its  extreme  limits-  We 
should  not  be  surprised,  therefore,  to  find  writers  who 
have  touched  the  topic,  laying  much  .stress  on  the  advan- 
tage to  the  student  of  receiving  his  pedagogical  instruc- 


THE    PEDAGOGICAL    CHAIR.  1 73 

tion  in  an  academical  institution.  Professor  Laurie  insists 
that  the  teachers  of  the  secondary  schools  of  Scotland 
need  professional  preparation  as  well  as  university  train- 
ing. "Where  shall  they  get  this?"  he  asks.  "They 
might  be  required  to  combine  attendance  at  a  training 
college  with  attendance  at  the  university  for  a  degree; 
but  this,  though  it  might  serve  as  a  provisional  arrange- 
ment, would  not  secure  the  end  we  seek.  And  why 
should  not  this  arrangement  secure  the  end  we  seek?  For 
this  reason,  and  for  no  other,  that  a  specialist  training 
college  does  not  answer  the  same  purpose  as  a  university. 
The  broader  culture,  the  purer  air,  the  higher  aims  of 
the  latter,  give  to  it  an  educational  influence  which  spe- 
cialist colleges  can  never  exercise.'" 

Whether  academical  teaching  should  be  furnished  in  a 
normal  school,  is  a  question  often  discussed.  That  ques- 
tion does  not  come  within  the  range  of  this  paper;  but 
the  observation  may  be  made  that  such  instruction  nnisl 
be  defended  theoretically,  if  at  all,  on  the  ground  of  its 
liberalizing  and  strengthening  tendencies. 

4.  It  is  a  function  of  the  university  to  furnish  society 
with  teachers.  Research,  teaching,  and  the  preparation 
of  teachers  are  the  three  great  duties  that  it  owes  society. 
The  preparation  of  teachers  for  primary  and  grammar 
schools,  and  po.ssibly  for  the  lower  classes  of  high 
schools,  might  be  left  to  normal  and  training  schools;  but 
high  schools  and  other  .secondary  schools  must  receive 
their  character  from  teachers  of  a  higher  grade  of  schol- 
arship. It  is  a  favorite  conceit  of  some  public-school 
men,  as  well  as  many  citizens,  that  the  public  schools  are 
fully  adequate  to  create  their  own  teachers,  unless  it  be 
in  some  of  the  more  special  lines  of  high-school  study 
and    instruction;    even   the   superintendents,    they  hold, 

*■  The  Traifiing  of  Teachers,  pp.  10,  11. 


174  STUDIES    IX    EDUCATION. 

should  "  come  up  from  the  ranks;"  but  no  man  who  un- 
derstands the  tendencies  and  effects  of  specialization ,  par- 
ticularly the  results  of  breeding  in-and-in.  will  for  a 
moment  favor  such  a  narrow  policy.  The  public  schools 
have  done  an  invaluable  work  in  furnishing  teachers  to 
society;  but  it  is  a  weight}'  fact  that  no  schools  more  need 
to  be  kept  in  vital  relation  with  the  schools  of  higher 
instruction. 

5.  The  chair  of  pedagogy  and  the  teaching  profession 
need  the  strength  and  dignit}-  that  university  recognition 
will  give  them.  Such  recognition  will  be  the  strongest 
testimony  that  the  university  can  bear  to  the  public  of 
the  estimate  in  which  it  holds  the  great  art  that  it  prac- 
tices. In  that  way,  too,  it  will  most  strongh-  impress  its 
students  with  the  estimate  in  which  it  holds  the  teacher's 
calling.  When  our  aspiring  young  men  and  women  see 
accomplished  professors  of  the  science,  art,  and  history 
of  teaching  in  the  universities  and  colleges  of  the  land, 
vying  with  the  professors  of  philosophy,  ethics,  jurispru- 
dence, political  economy,  and  history  in  the  exposition  of 
tlieir  favorite  subjects,  they  will  form  a  higher  concejv 
tion  of  the  teacher's  work.  This  argument  also  has  been 
urged  with  much  force  by  writers  on  education.  Profes- 
sor I^aurie,  for  example,  says  that  the  teaching  profession 
of  Scotland,  almost  with  one  voice,  hailed  the  action  of 
the  Trustees  of  the  Bell  Fund  when  they  established  the 
Bell  chairs  at  St.  Andrews  and  Edinburgh.  The  feeling 
was  that  they  had  ' '  conferred  honor  on  a  department  of 
work  that  Dr.  Bell  delighted  to  honor.  They  ha\-e  un- 
questionably done  very  much  to  promote  education  in 
Scotland,  not  only  by  raising  the  work  of  the  schoolmas- 
ter in  public  estimation,  but  also  by  attracting  public 
attention  to  education  as  being  not  merely  a  question  of 
machinery  for  the  institution  of  schools  (essential  though 


THE    PEDAGOGICAL    CHAIR. 


^75 


this  undoubtedly  is),  but  a  question  of  principles  and 
methods — in  brief,  of  philosophy."  He  says,  further, 
that  the  institution  of  the  Edinburgh  chair  increased  the 
importance  of  the  teaching  body,  gave  it  academical 
standing,  and  made  it  possible  for  the  first  time  to  insti- 
tute in  the  universities  a  faculty  of  education,  like  the 
faculties  of  law,  medicine,  and  theology.^ 

The  argument  can  be  strengthened  by  historical  analo- 
gies. Professional  instruction  has  long  been  given  in  the 
highest  seminaries  of  learning.  The  learned  professions 
have  loved  to  nestle  under  the  wings  of  the  universities. 
The  faculties  of  theology,  law,  and  medicine  have  so  long 
been  constituent  parts  of  the  university  that  some  may 
suppose  that  such  has  always  been  the  case.  But  this  is 
not  the  fact:  the  faculty  of  arts  is  the  original  faculty  on 
which  the  university  was  founded,  and  around  which  the 
other  faculties  have  grown  up.  One  of  our  ablest  Ameri- 
can pedagogists — my  honored  predecessor  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Michigan,  President  W.  H.  Payne — says: 
' '  The  main  strength  of  the  recognized  professions  is 
their  organic  connection  with  great  seats  of  learning. 
Law,  medicine,  and  theology,"  he  goes  so  far  as  to  say, 
' '  had  never  been  professions  except  on  the  condition  of 
university  recognition  and  support ;  nor  could  their 
professional  character  be  sustained  if  this  support  were 
withdrawn."  ^ 

The  argument  from  recognition  derives  additional 
strength  from  the  history  of  education.  No  other  noble 
art  have  men  treated  with  such  general  contempt.  No 
other  noble  calling,  at  least  in  its  lower  walks,  has  been 
abandoned  to  such  unworthy  agents.  According  to 
Socrates,  the  Athenians  took  more  care  in  selecting  train- 

1  T/ie  Training  of  Teachers,  pp.  6,  7,  17. 
"^Contributions  to  the  Science  of  Education,  p.  269. 


176  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

ers  for  their  horses  than  for  their  children;  and  Phitarch 
says  that  in  his  da}-,  as  men  assigned  their  slaves  to  dif- 
ferent employment  according  to  their  fitness,  if  they 
found  any  slave  who  was  a  drunkard,  or  a  glutton,  or 
unfit  for  any  other  business,  they  made  him  a  pedagogue. 
L,uther  says  he  was  whipped  fifteen  times  on  one  da}'  at 
school  because  he  could  not  recite  what  he  had  not  been 
taught.  Compayre  says  as  late  as  1837  the  French 
schoolmasters  practiced  all  the  trades;  they  were  day 
laborers,  shoemakers,  ushers,  beadles,  and  inn-keepers; 
they  were  poorly  paid  and  enjoyed  no  social  considera- 
tion; they  were  on  the  same  footing  as  mendicants,  and 
were  often  infirm,  crippled,  and  unfit  for  any  kind  of 
work.  Carleton  has  described  the  hedge  school  of  Ire- 
land in  one  of  his  graphic  tales.  Whether  men  have  de- 
.spised  the  training  of  children,  and  so  committed  it  to  such 
unworthy  agents,  or  whether  they  have  allowed  it  to  fall 
into  such  hands  and  then  despised  it,  is  immaterial;  but 
certainly  from  classic  days  to  recent  times  the  elementary 
school  and  its  teachers  have  been  made  the  subjects  of 
keenest  ridicule.  What  a  figure  the  schoolmaster  cuts 
in  literature,  from  the  days  of  the  flogging  Orbilius  to  the 
days  of  Dominie  Sampson  and  Squeers!  Commonly  cruel 
and  tyrannical,  generally  ignorant,  always  uncouth  and 
awkward,  and,  if  occasionally  learned,  also  pedantic,  the 
schoolmaster  of  literature  is  not  a  character  in  whom  one 
can  feel  a  professional  pride.  No  doubt  the  satirists  have 
made  the  most  of  their  opportunity;  no  doubt  there  have 
been  many  admirable  teachers;  but,  on  the  whole,  the 
repute  of  no  other  workman  has  fallen  so  far  below  his 
work  as  the  repute  of  the  teacher.  We  live  in  better 
times.  At  present  society  is  demanding  that  teachers 
shall  have  higher  literary  qualifications,  and  that  they 
.shall    be    superior  persons;  both  of  them  most    hopeful 


THE    PEDAGOGICAL    CHAIR. 


177 


signs.     The  university  will   materially  strengthen   these 
tendencies  by  maintaining  the  chair  of  education. 

6.  There  is  a  still  broader  ground  on  which  the 
question  can  be  urged.  Teachers  are  not  the  only  per- 
sons who  are  interested  in  educational  problems.  Those 
problems  concern,  and  should  interest,  all  intelligent  men 
and  women.  If  the  graduates  from  our  higher  institu- 
tions of  learning  could  take  two  courses  of  lectures,  one 
in  the  theory  and  practice  and  one  in  the  history  of  edu- 
cation, before  receiving  their  diplomas,  they  would  find 
the  knowledge  and  training  thus  received  of  very  great 
advantage  to  them.  Mr.  Spencer's  vigorous  argument 
on  this  point  will  not  soon  be  forgotten.  "The  subject 
which  involves  all  other  subjects,  and  therefore  the  sub- 
ject in  which  the  education  of  every  one  should  terminate, 
is  the  theory  and  practice  of  teaching. ' ' 

7.  The  university  itself  needs  the  chair  of  education  to 
give  it  completeness  and  symmetry.  So  long  as  its  right 
— its  duty  even — to  investigate  and  teach  the  arts  and 
sciences  generally  is  not  only  admitted  but  a.sserted,  it  is 
strange  indeed  that  anyone  should  question  its  right  and 
duty  to  investigate  and  teach  its  own  processes  and  the 
principles  underlying  them.  The  fact  is,  that  in  this 
respect  the  American  university  has  been  an  empiricist. 
Heretofore  it  might  say  in  self-defense  that  education  was 
largely  empirical;  but  that  argument  has  now  lost  most 
of  its  force.  Nor  can  a  university  in  any  other  waj'  so 
effectually  defend  education  against  that  charge  as  by 
creating  a  professorship  to  cultivate  it  as  a  .science. 

But  this  is  not  all:  the  university  needs  the  chair  for 
practical  reasons,  separate  and  apart  from  the  preparation 
of  teachers.  Its  occupant,  if  a  man  of  real  force  and 
attainments,  could  not  fail  to  stimulate  pedagogical  thought 
among   both    professors  and   students,    thus   creating   a 


178  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

mental  habit  and  an  atmosphere  that  would  be  useful  in 
many  waj'S.  Somebody  in  the  faculty  should  stand  for 
educational  science.  Particular  stress  may  be  laid  on 
the  new  university  conditions  growing  out  of  elective 
studies,  such  as  throwing  upon  students  the  difficult 
and  important  subject  of  educational  values.  Then 
the  study  of  education  may  be  strongly  recommended  to 
advanced  students  on  disciplinary  and  culture  grounds. 
When  they  near  the  end  of  the  curriculum  they  cannot, 
indeed,  correct  the  mistakes  that  the}'  have  made;  but 
they  can  coordinate  their  knowledge  and  their  ideas, 
giving  to  the  sum-total  of  their  attainments  something  of 
the  form  and  consistency  of  system.  And  this  is  in  the 
highest  degree  desirable.  It  solidifies,  and  so  preserves, 
what  has  been  learned,  and  influences  further  acquire- 
ment. It  is  my  firm  conviction  that  university  seniors 
generally  could  spend  a  semester  in  such  an  intellectual 
clearing-house  with  the  greatest  advantage.  Nor  is  there 
any  place  where  this  work  can  be  so  well  done  as  in  the 
classroom  of  a  competent  professor  of  pedagogy.  On  this 
ground  alone  the  chair  of  pedagogy  in  the  higher  institu- 
tions can  be  successfully  advocated. 

The  history  of  the  universities  throws  much  light  on 
our  subject,  and  I  shall  close  by  stating  some  of  the  more 
important  facts  of  that  history.^ 

In  the  older  universities  of  the  Parisian  model,  instruc- 
tion was  not  confided  to  a  special  bod}-  of  professors,  but 
the  university  was  taught  and  governed  by  the  graduates- 
at-large.  Professor,  master  and  doctor  were  synonymous 
terms.     Every  graduate  had  the  equal  right  to  teach  pub- 

*  See  Sir  William  Hamilton's  articles  on  "  Rnglisli  Universities  " 
and  "University  Reform,"  first  published  in  the  Edinburgh  Re- 
view, and  now  found  in  his  Discussiofis  on  Philosophy,  etc. 


THE    PEDAGOGICAL    CHAIR.  I79 

licly  in  the  universit}-  the  subjects  belonging  to  his  faculty 
and  to  the  rank  of  his  degree,  and  was  even  required  by 
the  terms  of  his  degree  to  do  so.  The  bachelor  was 
bound  to  read  under  a  master  or  doctor  of  his  faculty 
a  course  of  lectures;  and  the  master  or  doctor  was  obliged 
immediately  to  commence  {incepere),  and  to  continue  for 
a  certain  period  to  teach  {regere),  some  of  the  subjects 
belonging  to  his  faculty.  Hence  "commencement,"  the 
time  when  the  perfect  graduate  commenced  to  teach,  and 
the  so-called  "  necessary  regency."  However,  the  uni- 
versities did  not  enforce  the  obligation  of  public  teaching 
so  long  as  there  was  a  competent  number  of  voluntary 
teachers  or  regents  to  do  the  work;  besides,  the  schools 
belonging  to  the  several  faculties  were  frequently  inade- 
quate to  accommodate  the  young  inceptors.  And  so  it 
came  to  pass  that  the  period  of  necessary  regency  was 
successively  shortened,  and  finally  dispensations  from 
actual  teaching  were  commonly  allowed.  In  these  cir- 
cumstances originated  the  distinction  of  regent  and  non- 
regent;  to  the  first  of  whom,  progressively,  full  privileges 
of  legislation  and  government  came  to  be  confined.  This 
distinction  was  most  rigidly  marked  in  the  faculty  of  the 
arts.  ' '  In  the  other  faculties, ' '  says  Sir  William  Hamil- 
ton, "both  Paris  and  Oxford,  all  doctors  succeeded  in 
usurping  the  style  and  privileges  of  regent,  though  not 
actually  engaged  in  teaching;  and  in  Oxford  the  same 
was  allowed  to  masters  of  the  faculty  of  arts  during  the 
statutory  period  of  their  necessary  regency,  even  when 
availing  themselves  of  a  dispensation  from  the  per- 
formance of  its  duties,  and  extended  to  the  heads  of 
houses  and  to  college  deans."  He  says  further  that 
the  teaching  function  was  accorded  the  bachelor  on 
two  grounds:  "  Partly  as  an  exercise  towards  the  higher 
honor,  and  useful   to  himself;    partly  as  a  performance 


l8o  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

due  for  the  degree  obtained,  and  of  an  advantage  to 
others."  In  Germany  the  course  of  academical  history 
vvas  somewhat  different.  There  the  thesis  that  the  candi- 
date for  the  Doctor's  degree  is  now  required  to  "  defend," 
as  well  as  to  read,  is  a  survival  of  the  ancient  custom. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  discover  the  causes  that  made 
bachelors  as  well  as  masters  of  arts  university  teachers,  and 
that  afterwards  ousted  them  from  their  privileges.  The 
multitude  of  pupils  that  flocked  to  the  Medieval  universi- 
ties—20,000  to  Bologna  and  30,000  to  Oxford— many  of 
whom  were  very  young  and  immature,  called  for  a  large 
number  of  teachers.  The  university  felt  its  obligations 
to  the  public.  Moreover,  the  conviction  that  teaching  is 
a  most  important  means  of  learning  had  great  influence. 
The  establishment  of  secondar}^  schools,  which  drew 
away  the  younger  pupils  from  the  universities;  the  growth 
of  science  in  both  breadth  and  depth;  the  development 
of  specialization  in  teaching  and  in  research,  and  the 
ambition  of  the  Dons — these  are  the  main  causes  that 
banished  from  the  universitj'  the  somewhat  miscellane- 
ous body  of  teachers  of  the  earlier  times,  and  established 
a  body  of  professional  instructors.  The  change  was  not 
only  natural  but  inevitable. 

The  causes  that  banished  the  body  of  graduates  from  the 
university  as  teachers  will  prevent  their  reappearance  in 
that  capacity.  The  university  cannot  again  furnish  society 
with  teachers,  or  teachers  with  needed  discipline,  in  the 
ancient  manner.  The  forces  that  worked  the  great  change 
are  far  stronger  to  prevent  its  being  unworked.  This  is 
a  revolution  that  will  not  go  backward.  What  then? 
Shall  the  university  forget  its  ancient  function  of  furnish- 
ing society  with  teachers  ?  Shall  it  pretend  that  when  it 
has  made  scholars  it  has  also  made  teachers,  and  thus 
ignore  or  deny  the  value  of  professional  training  ?     Shall 


THE    PEDAGOGICAL    CHAIR.  l8l 

it  confine  itself  to  research  and  to  teaching?  Or  shall  it 
remember  its  ancient  practice,  and,  recognizing  all  the 
new  conditions,  including  the  demand  for  the  professional 
training  of  teachers,  establish  and  maintain  the  Chair  of 
Education  until  the  time  comes  for  it  to  give  way  to  the 
Faculty  of  Education?  This  last  is  a  question  to  which 
there  can  be  but  one  final  answer. 

It  will  be  seen  that  while  the  university  and  college  are 
mentioned  together  in  the  caption  of  this  paper,  the 
university  alone  has  been  mentioned  in  the  argument. 
Hence  the  observation  that,  as  the  college  raises  its  stand- 
ard and  approaches  the  level  of  university  work,  the  same 
reasons  will  apply  to  it  as  to  the  university. 


VIII. 

THE  CULTURE   VALUE   OF   THE  HIS- 
TORY OF  EDUCATION.' 


HE  appearance  on  the  morning's  programme 
of  the  subjects  following  my  own  will  cause  no 
surprise.  That  the  liistor}-  of  education  con- 
tains lessons  of  great  practical  value  for  the 
educational  statesman,  for  the  school  administrator,  and 
for  the  teacher,  are  propositions  by  no  means  novel, 
even  if  their  importance  is  not  fully  appreciated. 
That  this  history  also  has  great  culture  value  may 
not  be  a  novel  proposition,  but  it  is  certainly  much  less 
familiar  than  the  others,  and  is  much  less  appreciated. 
This  is  the  proposition  that  I  am  to  bring  into  the  fore- 
ground. 

I  must  first  explain  that  by  the  culture  value  of  the 
subject  I  mean  its  total  value  separate  and  apart  from 
guidance  or  practice.  Everything  that  the  histor}'  of 
education  does  for  the  mind  as  such,  whether  training  its 
powers,  storing  it  with  information,  or  planting  it  with 
fruitful  ideas,  is  included  in  the  topic.  In  this  discussion, 
however,  it  will  not  be  necessary,  or  advantageous,  to  sep- 
arate the  total  culture  product  into  these  several  parts. 

Possibly  it  is  commonly  supposed  that  the  history  of 
education  consists  of  dry  bits  of  information  relating  to 
studies,  methods  of  school  organization,  teaching  and 
discipline,  school  legislation,   and  school  appliances,   to- 

*A  paper  read  before  the  National  Educational  Association  at 
Nashville,  Tenn.,  July,  1889. 

182 


CULTURE  VALUE  OF  THE   HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION.    1 83 

gether  with  personal  notices  of  some  quite  peculiar  and 
uninteresting  men  called  schoolmasters  and  educational 
reformers.  It  does  indeed  embrace  all  these  subjects,  which 
are  of  such  great  practical  importance;  however,  if  this  were 
all  we  could  not  make  a  very  large  culture  claim  for  the 
study.  But  this  is  far  from  being  all;  it  is,  in  fact,  but 
husk  and  rind,  so  far  as  culture  is  concerned.  It  would 
not  be  easy  to  name  a  division  of  the  history  of  philosophy, 
or  of  the  philosophy  of  history,  that  brings  before  the 
mind  a  richer  store  of  facts  or  a  more  interesting  group 
of  problems. 

First,  educational  S3'stems  in  the  legal  sense  are  an  im- 
portant department  of  law,  and  an  interesting  branch  of 
institutional  history.  Education  is  recognized  in  every 
one  of  our  State  constitutions,  in  some  of  them  at  much 
length;  while  our  State  school  laws  are  among  the  most 
characteristic  parts  of  American  legislation.  It  is  an 
obvious  remark,  that  these  laws  reflect  the  character  and 
temper  of  our  people,  and  partake  of  the  nature  of  our 
institutions  as  a  whole.  It  maj-  be  equally  obvious  that 
these  laws,  so  far  from  being  based  on  certain  a  priori 
principles,  conform  throughout  to  our  local  political  insti- 
tutions. For  example,  there  are  in  the  United  States  two 
radically  different  systems  of  local  government.  In  New 
England  the  unit  of  government  is  the  town;  in  the  South, 
the  county.  In  the  one  section,  the  county  is  used  for 
judicial  purposes  only;  in  the  other,  the  town  is  nothing 
but  the  jurisdiction  of  a  justice  of  the  peace  and  an  elec- 
tion district.  A  third  system  has  sprung  up  from  the 
combination  of  these  two.  The  compromise  system  of 
the  old  Middle  States,  and  of  the  West,  makes  less  of  the 
town  and  more  of  the  county  than  New  England,  and  less 
of  the  county  and  more  of  the  town  than  the  Southern 


184  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

States.  Our  State  school  systems,  corresponding  to  these 
large  institutional  facts,  are  also  divisible  into  three 
groups.  Until  the  recent  Vermont  legislation  in  relation 
to  the  county  superintendency,  I  am  not  aware  that  the 
word  "county"  was  found  in  the  school  law  of  a  single 
New  England  State.  At  the  South,  again,  school  ofl0.cers 
and  school  machinery  belong  mainly  to  the  county.  And 
finall}^  the  compromise-system  States  use  both  the  town 
and  the  county  for  educational  purposes,  just  as  they  do 
for  the  other  objects  of  local  government. 

Examples  of  the  correspondence  between  school  systems 
and  their  social  and  political  environments  are  plentifully 
furnished  b}^  the  states  of  Europe.  In  France  and 
Germany,  the  administration  of  the  schools  and  of  educa- 
tion is  highly  centralized,  like  every  other  department  of 
public  affairs;  while  that  large  piece  of  patch- work  called 
the  Elementary  Education  Acts  well  illustrates  the  slow 
process  of  evolution  by  which  the  institutions  of  England 
have  been  produced,  the  heterogeneous  elements  of  which 
they  are  composed,  and  the  extreme  conservatism  of  the 
English  mind. 

Education  therefore  is  deserving  of  study  as  a  part  of 
the  institutions  of  nations.  The  education  of  youth  is 
certainly  a  much  more  important  element  of  civilization 
than  the  punishment  of  criminals,  but  educational  insti- 
tutions have  been  less  studied  than  penal  institutions  by 
others  than  professional  educators. 

In  the  vSecond  place,  educational  systems,  considered  as 
mental  and  moral  disciplines,  are  developments  of  ideas; 
they  are  born  of  philosophies,  religions,  civilizations. 
This  can  be  .shown  adequately  for  the  occasion  by  an  out- 
line map  of  the  territory  that  the  history  of  education 
covers.     Frequently  the  division  lines  will  overlap,   but 


CULTURE  VALUE  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION,    1 85 

my  object  is  to  give  a  general  view  of  the  field  and  not  a 
close  logical  analysis. 

1.  The  inquiry  how  education  has  been  influenced 
by  particular  civilizations  would  include  the  effects  of 
national  ideals,  as  those  of  Athens,  Sparta,  and  Rome  in 
ancient  times,  and  Prussia  and  America  in  modern  times. 
It  would  embrace  also  the  educational  results  of  the 
caste  system  of  Hindustan,  of  democracy  in  the  Gre- 
cian republics,  of  absolute  monarchy  in  France  under 
the  ancien  regime,  of  constitutionalism  in  England,  and 
of  republicanism  in  the  United  States.  Nor  would  the 
inquiry  end  with  the  influence  of  the  several  factors  in 
the  particular  countries  where  they  existed;  many  of  their 
most  interesting  results  would  be  found  in  remote  lands 
and  in  distant  times,  China  did  not  make  any  contribu- 
tion to  current  Western  educational  history  until,  a  few 
years  ago,  we  began  to  study  her  civil-service  and  exami- 
nation systems;  but  Greece,  from  her  character  and  geo- 
graphical position,  has  profoundly  influenced  the  educa- 
tion of  every  Western  country  since  the  da5'S  that  she 
sent  her  colonies  to  Italy,  Gaul,  and  Spain. 

2.  The  educational  effects  of  schools  of  thought  come 
next.  Exclusive  of  theology,  thought  has  moved  in  two 
main  channels.  The  first  Greek  thinkers  occupied  them- 
selves with  physical  problems.  They  sought  to  under- 
stand and  to  explain  nature;  but  their  explanations,  as 
was  natural,  are  now  thought  rather  curious  than  valuable. 
Socrates  at  first  studied  the  same  subjects;  but,  failing  to 
reach  results  that  satisfied  him,  and  becoming  con- 
vinced that  the  gods  had  withheld  the  causes  of  ma- 
terial things  from  the  knowledge  of  men,  he  applied 
himself  to  human  problems,  and  so  became  the  founder  of 
philosophy.  His  motto  was  "Know  thyself;"  and 
although  the  scientific  treatises  of  Aristotle  and  the  phys- 


1 86  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION-. 

ical  discoveries  of  the  Alexandrian  philosophers  were 
promising  anticipations  of  modern  science,  thought  con- 
tinued to  flow  mainly  in  the  humanistic  channel  for  two 
thousand  j-ears.  In  the  large  sense,  Socrates  was  the  first 
and  the  greatest  of  humanists.  In  the  seventeenth  century 
we  come  upon  the  main  stream  of  the  second  great  intel- 
lectual movement.  In  English-speaking  countries,  and  in 
all  countries  where  the  experimental  philosophy  has  made  a 
deep  impression,  the  name  of  Lord  Bacon  has  been,  and 
still  is,  more  closely  identified  with  this  movement  than 
that  of  any  other  thinker.  In  late  years  there  has  been  a 
tendency  to  challenge  Bacon's  claims,  but  we  must  in 
fairness  acknowledge  the  force  and  justness  of  Professor 
Fowler's  words,  "  He  called  men,  as  with  the  voice  of  a 
herald,  to  lay  themselves  alongside  of  Nature,  to  study  her 
ways,  and  imitate  her  processes.  To  use  his  own  homely 
simile,  he  rang  the  bell  which  called  the  other  wits  to- 
gether. Other  men  indeed  had  said  much  the  same  thing  in 
whispers,  or  in  learned  books  written  for  a  circle  of  select 
readers  ;  but  Bacon  cried  it  from  the  housetops,  and  in- 
vited all  men  to  come  in  freely  and  partake  of  the  feast. 
In  one  word,  he  popularized  the  study  of  nature.  He 
insisted,  both  b}^  example  and  precept,  on  the  influence  of 
experiment  as  well  as  observation.  Nature,  like  a  wit- 
ness, when  put  to  the  torture,  would  reveal  her  secrets."  ^ 
Thus  the  name  of  Bacon  stands  for  science  as  the  name 
of  Socrates  .stands  for  philosophy.  It  is  impossible  to 
name  subjects  more  unlike  in  matter  than  these  two 
subjects.  Thej^  present  also  strong  differences  of  pro- 
cess and  method  in  both  investigation  and  exposition. 
The  historian  of  education  is  not  concerned  with  these 
great  intellectual  movements  as  such,  or  with  humanist  or 
scientist;  but  he  is  intimately  concerned  to  know  and  to 

1  Bacou,  p.  11)7. 


CULTURE  VALUE  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION'.    1R7 

explain  how  they  have  affected  the  study  of  mind  and 
shaped  theories  of  human  nature;  how  they  have  moulded 
educational  ideas  and  furnished  the  materials  of  study; 
how  they  have  influenced  the  scale  of  educational  values, 
and  determined  methods  of  teaching  and  school  govern- 
ment. Who  shall  estimate  the  pedagogical  consequences 
of  such  Baconian  utterances  as  these:  ' '  Man  is  the  ser\^ant 
and  the  interpreter  of  nature;"  "We  can  only  conquer 
nature  by  first  obeying  her;"  and,  "The  kingdom  of 
man,  which  was  founded  on  the  sciences,  cannot  be  entered 
otherwise  than  the  kingdom  of  God— that  is,  in  the 
spirit  of  a  little  child?" 

A  still  more  particular  inquiry  as  to  philosophy  is  this: 
How  has  education  been  affected  by  its  various  systems, 
as  the  Platonic  and  the  Aristotelian,  Sensationalism  and 
Idealism  ? 

3,  How  has  education  been  influenced,  as  respects  its 
ideals,  its  subject  matter,  its  methods,  by  the  religions  and 
churches  of  the  world,  and  by  particular  movements  and 
organizations  within  them  ?  To  be  more  specific,  what  has 
been  the  influence  of  historical  Christianity ,  and  of  such  cur- 
rents within  its  wide  stream  as  asceticism,  scholasticism, 
mysticism.  Protestantism,  and  the  Catholic  revival?  INI. 
de  Laveleye,  the  distinguished  Belgian  publicist  and 
economist,  once  said:  "  The  Reformed  religion  rests  on  a 
book — the  Bible."  "  Catholic  worship,  on  the  contrary, 
rests  upon  sacraments  and  certain  practices,  such  as  con- 
fessions, masses,  sermons."  What,  if  any,  is  the  educa- 
tional significance  of  these  two  facts  ? 

No  man  competent  to  deal  with  this  problem  is  likely  to 
question  that,  as  a  whole,  Christianity  far  transcends  an>- 
other  force  or  movement  that  has  acted  upon  education. 
Consider  for  one  moment  the  tremendous  momentum  that 
the   enthusiasm  of   humanity   has  given  to   educational 


1 88  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

effort.  "  A  new  commandment  I  give  unto  ^-ou,  that  3'ou 
love  one  another;  as  I  have  lo\-ed  j-ou,  that  ye  also  love 
one  another."  Undoubtedly,  men  who  approached  educa- 
tion on  the  secular  side  have  done  educational  work  of 
ver)'  great  value;  but  the  men  who  have  burned  with 
educational  zeal — the  evangelists  of  new  fields,  the  heroes 
of  new  conquests,  the  martj'rs  of  the  cause—  have  been 
Christian  men,  filled  with  the  spirit  of  Him  who  was 
moved  with  compassion  on  the  multitude,  when  He  saw 
that  they  fainted  and  were  scattered  abroad  as  sheep 
having  no  shepherd.  Nor,  as  the  centuries  pass  away, 
does  this  flame  burn  less  pure  or  bright.  It  warmed  the 
heart  of  Pestalozzi  as  well  as  of  St.  Boniface.  All  in  all, 
the  educational  influence  of  John  Amos  Comenius  has  been 
greater  than  that  of  any  other  man  of  recent  times.  And 
Comenius  was  a  Moravian  bishop,  impelled  in  all  his  un- 
dertakings by  the  same  spirit  that  sent  some  of  his  brethren 
as  missionaries  to  the  snows  of  Greenland  and  others  to 
the  forests  of  Ohio.  "  As  Comenius  increased  in  5'ears," 
says  Professor  I^aurie,  ' '  the  religious  element  in  his 
educational  theories  assumed  more  and  more  prominence. 
But  he  never  lost  sight  of  his  leading  principles.  The 
object  of  all  education  was  to  train  children  to  be  sons  of 
God,  but  the  way  to  do  this  was  through  knowledge,  and 
knowledge  was  through  method. ' '  ^ 

4.  Next  may  be  mentioned  the  educational  conse- 
quences flowing  from  intellectual  eras  or  epochs;  as  the 
reaction  of  Greece  upon  Rome,  the  Renaissance,  the  mod- 
ern scientific  era,  the  ascendency  of  the  French  mind 
in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries,  and  the  won- 
derful growth  of  German  influence  since  the  downfall  of 
Napoleon.  There  are  conjunctions  in  the  world's  history 
where  we  find  real  new  educations;  such  as  the  intro- 

^John  Atnos  Comenius:  p.  213. 


CULTURE  VALUE  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION,    1 89 

duction  of  the  Greek  learning  into  Italy  by  the  Romans, 
the  revival  of  ancient  letters,  and  the  expansion  of  modern 
science. 

5.  The  rationahstic  movement,  which  Mr.  L,ecky 
well  characterizes  as,  "not  any  class  of  definite  doc- 
trines or  criticisms,  but  rather  a  certain  cast  of  thought, 
or  bias  of  reasoning, ' '  began  with  the  revival  of  letters, 
and  has  continued  its  resistless  sweep  until  it  has  sapped 
the  basis  of  authority,  greatly  weakened  faith,  swept  vast 
masses  of  dogma  into  the  limbo  of  things  forgotten, 
set  up  new  standards  or  modified  old  ones  in  almost  every 
department  of  life,  and  restored  to  civilization  the  old 
Greek  spirit  of  inquiry.  How  this  yeast  has  worked 
since  the  time  when  the  disciples  of  Abelard  prayed  their 
master  to  give  them  "some  philosophical  arguments, 
such  as  were  fit  to  satisfy  their  minds;  begged  that  he 
would  instruct  them,  not  merely  to  repeat  what  he  taught 
them,  but  to  understand  !"  How  great  the  distance  that 
separates  us  from  the  day  when  Scheiner,  the  monk,  was 
told  by  his  superior  that  he  could  not  have  seen  spots 
on  the  sun,  since  Plato  and  Aristotle  mentioned  nothing 
of  the  kind  in  their  writings  ! 

6.  Then  there  is  modern  democracy,  or  the  universal 
spirit,  that,  repudiating  the  old  theological  theory  of 
government,  and  basing  the  state  on  the  dogma  of  contract, 
has  profoundly  modified  every  department  of  life. 

7.  The  secularizing  tendency,  which,  as  well  as  democ- 
racy, is  closely  connected  with  the  rationalistic  movement, 
has  changed  educational  ideals,  broken  up  old  courses  of 
study  and  made  new  ones,  and,  to  a  great  extent,  com- 
pelled the  clergy  to  pass  the  educational  torch  to  laic 
hands. 

8.  Last  of  all  may  be  mentioned  material  progress, 
perhaps  the  greatest  fact  in  a  time  of  great  facts.     The 


190  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION, 

Opening  up  to  civilization  of  the  vast  regions  of  the  earth 
unknown  before  the  Age  of  Maritime  Discovery,  or  unoc- 
cupied, together  with  the  power  over  Nature  that  discovery 
and  invention  have  conferred  upon  man,  has  piled  Ossa 
on  Pelion  until  we  no  longer  even  guess  what  the  sur- 
prises of  the  future  will  be.  However,  we  shall  hardly 
dissent  from  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Spencer :  ' '  Throughout 
the  civilized  world,  especially  in  England,  and  above  all 
in  America,  social  activity  is  almost  wholly  expended  in 
material  development.  To  subjugate  Nature,  and  bring 
the  powers  of  production  and  distribution  to  their  highest 
perfection,  is  the  task  of  our  age;  and  probably  of  many 
future  ages."  ^  It  is  true  that  material  progress,  like 
many  other  parts  of  modern  civilization,  is  largely  a 
product  of  modern  education;  but  it  has  reacted  upon  its 
cause,  changing  ideals,  substituting  new  subject-matter 
for  old,  and  modifying  school  methods.  "It  is  im- 
possible," says  Mr.  I^ecky,  "to  lay  down  a  railway 
without  creating  an  intellectual  influence.  It  is  probable 
that  Watt  and  Stephenson  will  eventually  modify  the 
opinions  of  mankind  almost  as  profoundly  as  lyUther  or 
Voltaire.""  While  the  transforming  educational  power 
of  material  progress  has  already  been  very  great,  it  is 
certain  to  be  still  greater.  Men  are  not  wanting  who  tell 
us  that  an  education  based  on  books,  no  matter  how  it 
may  have  answered  the  demands  of  civilization  hitherto, 
is  ill-suited  to  the  wants  of  an  industrial  and  commercial 
age,  and  that  we  must  create  a  new  education  based  on 
things  and  manual  processes.  This  is  an  extreme  claim; 
but  we  readily  see  how  it  has  originated,  and  why  it  is 
pressed  with  such  persistence. 


'  Essay  on  The  Morals  of  Trade. 

*  Ralionalistn  in  Europe,  pj).  1,  S. 


CULTURE  VALUE  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION.    IQI 

But  we  must  look  at  our  subject  under  a  third  aspect. 
The  school  is  a  product  of  civilization,  and,  historically,  a 
late  one,  later  than  the  family,  state,  and  church.  But 
it  has  reacted  with  marked  power  and  effect  upon  civiliz- 
ation, modifying  its  forms,  changing  its  spirit,  recon- 
structing its  ideals,  and  altering  its  character.  Moreover, 
this  reflex  influence  is  constantly  growing  in  strength. 
More  and  more  the  schoolmaster  is  getting  abroad. 
Stronger  and  stronger  becomes  the  thread  of  educa- 
tion in  the  strand  of  civilized  life.  Formal  argument  is 
hardly  called  for  to  prove  these  propositions,  but  one  or 
two  historical  illustrations  will  not  be  out  of  place. 

Says  Mr.  John  Fiske  :  ' '  The  Puritan  theory  of  life  la}' 
at  the  bottom  of  the  whole  system  of  popular  education 
in  New  England.  According  to  that  theory,  it  w^as 
absolutel}^  essential  that  ever}'  one  should  be  taught  from 
early  childhood  how  to  read  and  understand  the  Bible. 
So  much  instruction  as  this  was  assumed  to  be  a  sacred 
duty  which  the  community  owed  to  ever}-  child  born 
within  its  jurisdiction."  The  results  of  the  system  of 
schools  that  .sprang  from  this  root  idea  are  before  the 
world.  Mr.  Fiske  finds  the  same  theory  of  life  acting  in 
Scotland;  and  he  goes  so  far  as  to  say:  "  And  one  need 
not  fear  contradiction  in  saying  that  no  other  people 
in  modern  times,  in  proportion  to  their  numbers,  have 
achieved  so  much  in  all  departments  of  human  activity  as 
the  people  of  Scotland  have  achieved.  It  would  be  super- 
fluous to  mention  the  preeminence  of  Scotland  in  the 
industrial  arts  since  the  days  of  James  Watt,  or  to  recount 
the  glorious  names  in  philosophy,  in  history,  in  poetry 
and  romance,  and  in  every  department  of  science,  which, 
.since  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  have  made  the 
country  of  Burns  and  Scott,  of  Hume  and  Adam  Smith, 
of  Black  and  Hunter  and  Hutton  and  Lyell,  illustrious 


192  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

for  all  future  tinie."^  Back  of,  and  causing,  all  these 
splendid  developments  were  the  parish  and  burg  schools 
that  date  from  John  Knox.  Renan  may  have  overstated 
the  truth  when  he  said  the  German  Universities  conquered 
at  Sedan;  but  men  recognize  that  education  pla3'ed  a  most 
important  part  in  the  tremendous  war  which  in  1870- 
1871  considerabl}'  changed  the  map  of  Europe,  and  pro- 
foundly affected  the  adjustment  of  its  political  and  military 
forces.  On  the  opening  of  the  Paris  Exposition  two  months 
ago,  keen  obser^'ers  began  at  once  to  study  the  products 
there  exhibited  with  reference  to  their  educational  bear- 
ings. Moreover,  they  have  promptly  told  us  that  they 
find  clear  proof  that,  in  some  lines,  America  is  falling  into 
the  rear.  Thus,  every  day  the  impression  deepens  that 
education  and  schools  are  essential  elements  of  national 
power  and  progress. 

Then  there  are  certain  divisions  of  knowledge  a  fair  ac- 
quaintance with  wliich  is  deemed  essential  to  a  well-edu- 
cated man.  Reference  is  not  now  made  to  the  mere  technical 
subjects  that  are  taught  in  schools,  as  languages,  math- 
ematics, and  sciences;  but  to  those  more  general  branches 
of  knowledge  that  constitute  what  we  commonly  call 
"generalinformation,"  and  sometimes  "fact-lore."  Men- 
tion may  be  made  of  military  history,  politics,  material 
progress,  religion  under  its  doctrinal  and  institutional 
forms,  art,  and  literature.  Now  it  cannot  be  denied, 
either  that  education  is  a  subject  of  at  least  equal  import- 
ance and  dignity  with  these,  or  that  it  is  much  less  under- 
stood. Educational  knowledge  has  never  taken  rank 
with  the  other  large  divisions  of  knowledge;  and,  if  the 
paradox  may  be  allowed,  education  is  the  one  great  sub- 
ject about  which  educated  men  generally  are   most  igno- 

'  The  Beginnings  of  New  England,  pp.  lol,  152. 


CULTURE  VALUE  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION.    1 93 

rant.  This  fact  is  a  part  of  that  undervaluation  of  educa- 
tion which  is  so  patent  in  the  history  of  civilization.  Two 
series  of  facts  will  set  the  general  proposition  in  a  clear 
light. 

Intelligent  men  are  almost  universally  ill-informed  con- 
cerning contemporary  educational  history.  Men  who  can 
give  you  a  particular  account  of  the  progress  of  political 
events  in  France  since  1870,  can  give  you  no  account 
whatever  of  the  almost  equally  remarkable  series  of  edu- 
cational events.  Americans  understand  German  schools 
and  education  better  than  those  of  any  other  foreign 
country;  and  yet  with  the  exception  of  a  small  number 
of  cultured  men  this  understanding  is  extremely  vague 
and  general.  Men  in  numbers  can  explain,  with  much 
fullness  and  accuracy,  that  wonderful  complex  of  preced- 
ents, documents,  and  institutions  which  make  up  the  Eng- 
lish constitution,  who  know  nothing  of  England  in  an 
educational  aspect  beyond  the  bare  fact  that  Oxford  and 
Cambridge  are  its  great  Universities. 

Nor  do  we  find  a  happier  state  of  things  when  we 
change  from  contemporary  to  historical  events.  Here, 
however,  it  must  be  confessed  that  the  materials  of  infor- 
mation are  not  easy  of  access.  The  man  who  has  never 
read  the  common  books  of  history  with  the  point  in 
mind,  can  poorly  appreciate  their  barrenness  of  such  mate- 
rials. One  dependent  solely  upon  these  sources  of  infor- 
mation would  hardly  get  the  idea  that  there  were  schools 
and  teachers  in  antiquity,  or  that  they  have  been  of  much 
consequence  in  modern  times.  He  will  search  the  copious 
indexes  of  Grote's,  Thirlwall's,  and  Curtius'  histories  of 
Greece  in  vain  for  the  words  "teacher,"  "school," 
"study,"  and  "education."  Merivale  and  Mommsen  do 
better.  Some  very  interesting  views  of  Roman  education 
are  found  in  their  works,  but  by  no  means  the  full  views 


194  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

that  the  student  of  educational  histor}'  desires,  Macaulay 
said  the  historian  of  England  should  be  a  combination  of 
Henry  Hallam  and  Sir  Walter  Scott.  He  introduced  into 
his  Historj^ — for  example,  into  the  celebrated  third  chapter 
— much  material  that  writers  before  him  had  despised  and 
neglected,  thus  imitating  the  artist  mentioned  by  himself 
who  made  the  most  beautiful  window  in  the  Cathedral  of 
Lincoln  out  of  bits  of  glass  that  his  fellow- workmen  had 
cast  aside.  And  yet  Macaulay  did  nothing  for  the  history 
of  education  beyond  some  accounts  of  the  universities, 
and  a  half- page  devoted  to  female  education  at  the  Restor- 
ation. Mr.  J.  R.  Green,  as  he  says  in  his  preface, 
strives  to  keep  his  book  from  sinking  into  a  drum-and- 
trumpet  history.  He  gives  more  space  to  Chaucer  than 
to  Crecy,  to  Caxton's  press  than  to  the  Yorkist  and  Lan- 
castrian strifes,  to  the  rise  of  Methodism  than  to  the 
Young  Pretender;  and  still,  except  some  interesting  views 
of  the  universities  and  the  sentence,  "The  Sunday  schools 
established  by  Mr.  Raikes,  of  Gloucester,  at  the  close  of 
the  [eighteenth]  century,  were  the  beginnings  of  popular 
education,"  I  recall  nothing  in  his  "Short  Histor)',"  or 
in  its  later  expansion,  directly  touching  the  education  of 
the  English  people.  Mr.  Lecky  does  a  little  better;  in 
his  sixth  volume  he  gives  between  two  and  three  pages  to 
popular  education — which  is  just  twice  the  amount  of 
space  that  he  gives  to  the  introduction  of  the  umbrella 
into  England.  I  know  of  no  history  of  England  that 
gives  any  account  whatever  of  the  ancient  grammar 
schools,  or  of  the  great  public  schools,  which  are  such 
important  factors  in  the  civilization  of  the  country. 
Even  when  full  allowance  has  been  made  for  the  former 
feeble  state  of  education,  and  particularl3^  public  educa- 
tion, such  remissness  as  this  is  inexcusable.  Apparently, 
war  and  politics  are  still  themes  so  attractive  as  to  draw 


CULTURE  VALUE  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION.   1 95 

the  attention  of  historians  from  such  a  splendid  theme  as 
national  education. 

Finally,  to  guard  against  possible  misapprehension  a 
few  words  of  caution.  It  may  be  said  that  my  programme 
is  too  ambitious;  that  interesting  and  important  as  are  the 
facts  and  problems  presented,  they  belong  to  the  history 
of  civilization  or  philosophy  rather  than  education;  that 
they  lie  above  the  level  of  normal-school,  or  even  of  col- 
lege and  university  teaching;  and  that  they  have  more 
interest  and  value  for  the  philosopher  and  the  historian 
of  philosophy  than  for  the  practical  teacher  and  school 
officer.  This  view  is  not  without  truth.  I  have  .sought 
to  assign  to  Education  her  proper  place  in  the  family  of 
philosophical  studies.  No  doubt  my  programme  is  not  at 
present  full}'  attainable  in  even  our  best  equipped  univer- 
sities. At  the  same  time,  this  programme  should  be  kept 
in  view  as  an  ideal.  No  doubt  the  professor  of  the  his- 
tory of  education  must  not  allow  his  instruction  to  evap- 
orate in  philosophical  speculations;  he  must  remember  our 
practical  aims,  and  especially  our  practical  needs;  he 
must  keep  the  teacher's  schoolroom  and  the  superinten- 
dent's office  constantly  in  view.  But  if  he  is  wise,  he  will 
at  all  times  push  his  own  studies  along  the  higher  levels 
of  the  subject;  he  will  present  his  facts  in  the  light  of 
reason;  he  will  be  philosophical  as  well  as  pragmatical, 
and  will  not  fail  to  connect  educational  facts  and  prob- 
lems with  the  important  philosophical,  social,  scientific, 
and  religious  facts  and  problems  with  which  the}-  are 
so  closely  bound  up.  If  at  all  fit  to  occupy  his  chair, 
the  professor  will  understand  that  there  are  two  classes  of 
elements  in  the  practice  of  education — the  temporary  and 
the  permanent,  the  necessary  and  the  contingent:  by  an- 
alysis he  will  separate  these  classes  of  elements  one  from  the 
other;  and  he  will  so  establish  his  pupils  in  this  distinction 


196  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

that  they  will  not  be  apt  to  follow  noisy  educational  proph- 
ets who,  losing  sight  of  it,  either  fall  into  utter  charla- 
tanry, or  so  exaggerate  some  elements  of  education  as  to 
make  the  whole  product  monstrous.  The  teacher  of  the 
history  of  education  is  the  man  to  establish  in  the  minds 
of  those  fitting  to  teach  a  proper  educational  perspective. 


IX. 
THE  TEACHER'S  PREPARATIOK' 


O  person  can  successfully  teach  any  subject 
who  has  not  clear  and  correct  ideas  of  the 
ends  that  he  should  seek  to  gain.  As  this  re- 
mark is  a  particular  application  of  the  truism 
that  no  man  can  do  a  thing  well  without  knowing  what  he 
wants  to  do,  insistence  upon  it  may  be  thought  super- 
fluous. Such,  however,  is  not  the  fact,  and  I  shall  give 
it  the  emphasis  of  two  or  three  paragraphs. 

A  teacher  may  undoubtedly  teach  well  the  instrumental 
studies  in  their  earlier  stages  without  grasping  their  whole 
significance.  He  deals  largeh-  with  mechanical  pro- 
cesses, physical  and  mental.  It  is  indeed  desirable,  since 
the  mechanical  and  rational  elements  of  education  finally 
blend  in  perfect  unity,  that  the  primary  teacher  should 
grasp  the  ultimate  end  of  these  educational  arts,  but  we 
cannot  insist  upon  it  as  absolutely  essential.  He  will  not, 
however,  be  successful  unless  he  sees  distinctly  the  im- 
mediate objects  to  which  the  work  leads.  What  reading 
is,  and  wky\i  is  taught,  are  questions  that  he  must  be  able 
to  answer.  And  so  of  waiting,  number,  and  drawing. 
Much  more  as  the  mechanical  stages  of  these  arts  are  left 
behind,  must  the  teacher  con.sciously  grasp  their  higher 
uses. 

With  some  qualification  these  remarks  may  be  repeated 
with  respect  to  the  non-instrumental  studies.     It  is  not 

>  An  address  delivered  before  the  Normal  Department  of  the 
National  Educational  Association,  Toronto,  Canada,  July,  1S91. 

197 


198  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

strictly  neces.sary  that  the  teacher  who  deals  mainly  with 
the  facts  of  geography' ,  history,  literature,  or  science, 
rather  than  with  their  interpretation,  should  full\-  per- 
ceive their  higher  elements  and  objects.  Even  here, 
however,  such  insight  is  more  desirable  than  at  the  cor- 
responding stage  of  reading  and  writing,  for  the  work  is 
less  mechanical  and  more  rational.  In  fact,  all  that  the 
phrases  "mechanical  stage"  and  "rational  .stage  of  educa- 
tion" mean  is,  that  in  the  first  we  throw  the  emphasis 
upon  the  empirical  elements,  while  in  the  second  we  throw 
it  upon  the  philosophical  elements;  fir.st  in  respect  to  par- 
ticular .studies,  and  then  in  respect  to  education  as  a  whole. 
Furthermore,  while  studies  differ  widely  in  the  ratio 
existing  between  facts  and  principles,  and  the  .same  study 
in  the  ratio  of  these  elements  at  different  .stages,  there  is 
no  .study,  and  no  stage  of  any  stud}',  that  is  wholly  lack- 
ing in  either.  Still  more,  as  the  teaching  of  the  non- 
instrumental  .studies  recedes  from  the  matter-of-fact  stage, 
as  now  defined,  the  teacher  must  fully  di.scern  the  final 
reasons  of  his  work  and  be  guided  by  them.  He  must 
feel  the  force  of  the  philo.sopher' s  beatitude,  "Happy  is 
he  who  knows  the  causes  of  things." 

What  has  now  been  said  is  very  well  sunniied  up  in  the 
words  of  Dr.  Arnold :  "  It  is  clear  that  in  whatever  it  is 
our  duty  to  act,  those  matters  also  it  is  our  duty  to 
.study." 

I.  The  Fundamental  Facts  of  Fducation. — The  first  of 
these  is  the  mind  itself.  The  mind  is  capable  of  activity, 
of  self-activity;  through  its  activity  it  grows,  increases, 
enlarges;  while  it  is  one,  and  has  no  parts,  it  is  capable  of 
acting  in  different  spheres,  and  through  these  activities  its 
powers  or  faculties  are  developed.  This  enlargement  or 
increase  of  the  mind  is  what  we  menu  bv  education  when 


THE    teacher's    PREPARATION. 


199 


we  properly  understand  ourselves.  Once  more,  the  mind 
cannot  act,  and  so  cannot  enlarge  or  become  educated,  if  it 
is  merely  left  to  itself.  Hence  the  second  fundamental 
fact  of  education  is  the  world  or  knowledge.  Nature  first 
sets  the  mind  in  motion,  and  so  incites  its  growth  or  edu- 
cation; afterwards  the  same  results  are  produced  by  the 
mind's  own  states  and  affections.  However,  until  the 
relation  of  contact  between  the  mind  and  the  world  or 
knowledge  is  established,  there  is  no  mental  activity,  and 
so  of  course  no  education;  but  the  moment  such  contact 
is  established  activity  begins  and  education  takes  its  rise. 
Accordingh',  the  third  fundamental  fact  is  the  mind  and 
the  world,  or  knowledge,  in  relation. 

These  fundamental  facts  the  teacher  miist  firmly  and 
clearly  grasp,  because  they  bound  his  province  as  a 
teacher. 

II.  The  Teacher  s  Function. — In  the  strict  sense  of  the 
word,  the  teacher's  function,  as  an  instructor,  is  deter- 
mined by  the  relation  of  knowledge  to  the  mind.  How 
to  use  knowledge,  or  rather  how  to  cause  the  pupil  to  u.se 
knowledge,  in  such  a  way  as  to  promote  proper  mental 
growth,  or  education,  is  the  central  question  of  the 
teacher's  art.  As  a  former  of  minds,  he  has  no  duty 
to  perform  that  is  not  included  in  this  generalization. 
That  the  teacher  may  successfully  prosecute  his  art, 
he  must   know: — 

1.  The  activities  of  the  mind,  their  nature  and  rela- 
tions, and  their  respective  values  as  determined  by  the 
facts  of  life,  individual  and  social;  or,  in  other  words,  he 
must  have  an  educational  ideal. 

2.  The  varieties  of  knowledge  (or,  as  Bacon  calls 
them,  the  "knowledges  " )  and  their  power  to  stimulate 
and  form  the  mind,  in  respect  both  to  quantity  and  quality; 


200  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

or  he  must  have  worked  out,  partially  at  least,  the  problem 
of  educational  values/  The  person  who  has  this  knowl- 
edge, conjoined  with  skill  in  bringing  knowledge  and  the 
mind  into  vital  relation,  can  successfully  discharge  the 
function  of  a  teacher;  and  only  such  person  can  do  so. 

III.  The  Tzvo  Aspects  of  Kiioivledgc. — The  foregoing 
analysis  makes  apparent  the  fact  that  knowledge,  or 
studies,  must  be  considered  from  two  standpoints,  the 
academical  and  the  pedagogical. 

^Perhaps  a  pregnant  passage  in  Lord  Bacon's  essay  "Of 
Studies"  has  had  more  to  do  with  suggesting  the  term  "educa- 
tional values"  than  any  other  in  literature.  "■Histories  make 
men  wise;  poets  witty;  the  niathematicks  subtill;  Natural  I  Philo- 
sophy deepe;  Morall  Grave;  Logick  and  Rhetoiick  Able  to  Con- 
tend. Abeiint  studia  in  mores.  Nay,  ther  is  no  Stond  or 
Impediment  in  the  Wit,  but  may  be  wrought  out  by  Fit  Studies. 
Like  as  Diseases  of  the  body  may  have  Appropriate  Exercises. 
Bowling  is  good  for  the  Stone  and  Reines;  Shooting  for  the  Lungs 
and  Breast;  Gentle  Walking  for  the  Stomacke;  Ridingfor  the  Head; 
And  the  like.  So  if  a  Man's  Wit  be  Wandering,  let  him  Study 
the  Mathematic/cs;  for  in  demonstrations,  if  his  Wit  be  called 
away  never  so  little,  he  must  begin  again.  If  his  Wit  be  not  apt 
to  distinguish  or  find  differences  let  hiin  Study  the  Schoolmen; 
for  the}'  are  Cymini  sectores.  If  he  be  not  apt  to  beat  over  mat- 
ters, and  to  call  up  one  Thing,  to  Prove  and  Illustrate  another, 
let  him  Study  the  La-vyers'  Cases.  So  every  Defect  of  the  INIinde 
may  have  a  Speciall  Receitt." 

Dr.  James  Ward  remarks  that  a  threefold  analogy  seems  to 
underlie  the  phrase  '  'educational  values ' ' ;  studies  may  be  regarded 
as  exercise,  as  medicine,  or  as  food.  The  two  first  he  finds  com- 
bined in  the  above  passage  from  Bacon,  which  he  quotes,  but  he 
thinks  that  the  third  analogy  more  directly  suggests  the  word 
"value."  "Physiological  textbooks,"  he  says,  "have  famil- 
iarized us  with  tables  exhibiting  the  respective  values  of  fat  and 
lean,  sugar,  starch,  etc.,  for  sustenance  of  brain  or  muscle,  for 
maintaining  warmth,  preventing  fatigue,  and  so  on."  The  three- 
fold analogy  suggests  "  mental  dietetics,  mental  gymnastics,  and 
mental  therapeutics.'' 


THE    teacher's    PREPARATION.  201 

The  academical  point  of  view  is  the  one  occupied 
by  the  pupil  in  the  school  and  the  scholar  in  the  world. 
Such  person  is  profited  by  knowledge  in  two  ways;  his 
mind  is  formed  and  informed  by  it,  and  in  this  way  he  is 
made  ready  for  the  work  of  life.  The  general  scholar  or 
the  common  man  has  no  special  reason  for  studying 
knowledge  with  reference  to  its  forming  and  informing 
powers,  or  to  inquire  careful!}-  into  the  ways  in  which  it 
shall  be  applied  to  educational  uses. 

The  professional  or  pedagogical  point  of  view  is 
the  one  occupied  by  the  teacher  or  other  person  interested 
in  the  philosophy  of  education.  As  already  implied,  it 
includes  in  its  inventory  the  following  elements:  The 
activities  of  the  mind;  the  relations  of  different  kinds  of 
knowledge  to  these  activities;  the  discovery  or  invention 
of  methods  whereb)^  mind  and  knowledge  may  be  brought 
into  due  relation;  that  is,  methods  of  teaching.  These 
questions  bring  before  us  the  whole  rationale  of  forming 
and  informing  the  mind,  in  so  far  as  the  teacher's  art  is 
concerned  with  it;  in  other  words,  the  science  and  the 
art  of  teaching. 

IV.  The  Distribution  of  Emphasis. — Both  of  these  ways 
of  looking  at  knowledge  may  be  emphasized,  or  either  one 
may  be  emphasized  to  the  partial  exclusion  of  the  other. 
The  placing  of  disproportionate  emphasis  on  the  one  or 
the  other  is  well  illustrated  by  the  divergent  tendencies  of 
college  and  university  teachers,  on  the  one  hand,  and  of 
common-school  and  normal  teachers,  on  the  other. 

Active  college  men  cultivate  knowledge  and  learning; 
they  belong  to  the  various  associations  and  societies  look- 
ing to  those  objects;  but  as  a  class  they  take  little  interest 
in   the   .science  and  the  art  of  teaching.     They  give  a 


202  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

minimum  of  attention  to  the  reflective  or  scientific  side  of 
the  profession  that  they  follow.    Thej'  are  not  much  inter- 
ested in  teachers'    associations  and  meetings,  and  often 
look  upon  them  with  ill-concealed  contempt.     They  are 
prone  to  deny  that  there  is  a  science  of  teaching,  and 
sometimes  say  that  education  has  no  history  worth  study- 
ing.    Some  of  them  look  askance  upon  the  new  chairs  of 
pedagogics  in  the  universities  and  colleges,   and  a  few 
oppo.se  to  them  an  active  resistance.      "What  literature 
is  there  for  him  to  teach  ? ' '  was  once  a,sked  in  a  prom- 
inent  university  when   it   was  proposed   to   add   to  the 
facult}'  a  professor  of  the  .science  and  the  art  of  teaching. 
That  college  teaching  suffers  severely  in  consequence  of 
this  neglect  of  the  teaching  art,  does  not  admit  of  question. 
Common-school   and   normal  teachers  lay  more  stress 
than  college  professors  on  the  professional  factors  of  edu- 
cation.    Wh}-,  I  need  not  inquire;  the  fact  is  unmistaka- 
ble.    They  make  up  a  large  majorit}'  of  the  great  arm}-- 
that  attend  meetings  like  the  present  one.     Thej^  carry  on 
most  of  the  discussion  relating  to  teaching.     Indeed,  if 
our  educational  a.ssociations  should  lose  the  support  of 
these  teachers  there  are  few  of    them  that    would    not 
perish  at  once.     But,  on  the  other  hand,  these  teachers  are 
m\ich  less  prominent  and  active  than  college  professors  in 
the  field  of  learning  and  investigation.     One  reason  of  this 
is,  that  if  such  a  teacher  begins  to  attract  attention  in  these 
fields  he  is  pretty  apt  to  be  called  into  college  or  university 
work;  but  I  suspect  that  few  of  them  are  identified  with 
the  learned  or  scientific  societies  of  the  country.    Common- 
school  teachers  are  relatively  over-absorbed  in  the  technics 
of  their  work,  which  suffers  .seriously  in  consequence. 

Now  that  the  teacher  should  be  deeply  interested  in  both 
the  academical  and  profe.ssional  aspects  of   teaching,  or 


THE    teacher's    PREPARATION. 


203 


that  both  sides  of  his  preparation  need  to  be  suitably  em- 
phasized, becomes  demonstrably  certain  when  we  consider 
the  relations  existing  between  the  two.  The  following 
points  may  be  noted: — 

1.  Academical  preparation  is  not  sufficient.  Knowl- 
edge cannot  be  mechanically  deposited  by  one  person  in 
the  mind  of  another,  or  mental  power  be  similarly  trans- 
ferred. The  mind  has  its  own  laws  of  growth,  like  a 
plant  or  an  animal,  which  must  be  regarded.  Horace 
Mann  once  said  that  children  love  knowledge  as  natural!}- 
as  they  love  hone}';  and  to  the  objection  that  some  do  not 
appear  to  do  so,  he  replied  that  neither  would  they  like 
honey  if  it  were  poured  into  their  ears.  Hurling  facts  at 
children's  heads,  or  piling  up  knowledge  on  the  table,  is 
not  teaching.  It  is  well  known  that  great  .scholars  are 
sometimes  very  poor  teachers.  They  either  have  no  native 
aptitude  for  teaching,  or  they  have  neglected  the  cultiva- 
tion of  their  art.  But  it  is  important  to  observe  that  pri- 
mary teaching  is  a  more  delicate  art  than  college  teaching. 
Young  pupils  have  almost  no  power  to  organize  knowl- 
edge, whereas  advanced  students  can  re-sort  and  rearrange 
masses  of  material  that  are  cast  before  them.  Feeding  an 
infant  is  a  more  delicate  operation  than  feeding  a  giant- 
Were  the  majority  of  primary  teachers  such  bunglers  as 
many  college  professors  are,  they  would  soon  be  relegated 
to  other  spheres  of  usefulness. 

2.  Academical  preparation  must  precede  professional. 
This  arises  from  the  nature  of  the  case.  The  rationale  of 
no  subject  can  be  taught  before  the  subject  itself  is  meas- 
urably understood.  Neither  special  methods  nor  general 
methods  can  be  taught  successfully  until  the  pupil  has  a 
good  academic  education.  The  7chat  must  come  ]:)efore  the 
how.  Hence  the  effort  to  superinduce  a  professional  edu- 
cation for  teaching  upon  an  unorganized  or  ill-informed 


204  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

mind  must  end  in  an  ignominoiis  failure.  The  rent  in  the 
old  garment  is  made  worse  b)^  sewing  in  a  patch  of  new 
cloth. 

At  this  point  great  mistakes  have  been  made,  and 
are  still  sometimes  made.  For  example,  Pestalozzi  held 
that  a  teacher  who  had  mastered  the  method  could  teach 
a  branch  of  knowledge  that  he  did  not  understand.  To 
me  this  is  the  pardox  of  educational  history,  since  the 
whole  trend  of  Pestalozzi' s  thinking  was  away  from 
mechanism  and  toward  spirit  and  freedom;  and  I  can 
explain  it  only  by  referring  it  to  that  enthusiasm  for  a 
favorite  idea  which  sometimes  runs  into  fanaticism.  The 
great  Reformer's  own  scholarship,  it  will  be  remembered, 
was  slender,  while  he  dealt  almost  wholly  with  5'oung  and 
immature  minds.  But  Pestalozzi  is  not  the  only  man  who 
has  made  this  mistake.  The  idea  appears  to  prevail  in 
some  quarters  even  now  that  a  person  can  h^  fitted  out  with 
a  kit  of  tools  that  will  enable  him  to  teach,  no  matter 
whether  he  knows  much  or  not. 

Teaching  is  bringing  knowledge  into  due  relation  with 
the  mind.  Something  must  be  brought.  In  abstract 
knowledge  we  deal  with  forms  of  thought;  but  teach- 
ing is  not  a  matter  of  form  or  thought-skins,  of  going 
through  motions  or  following  rubrics.  Forms  stand  to 
thought  in  some  siich  relation  as  grape-skins  to  grapes, 
and  are  no  more  nutritious.  Teaching  is  .spreading  no 
Barmecide  table.  Then  too  much  is  often  made  of  the 
experience  argument.  At  least  experience  is  often  mis- 
understood. It  is  not  mere  number  of  da}s or  }ears  spent 
in  the  service.  Not  a  few  teachers  have  I  known  who 
were  incapacitated  for  good  teaching  by  their  very  "  expe- 
rience." Their  minds  had  become  circles  closed  to  all  new 
ideas  and  inspirations  and  glazed  over  with  uniformity  and 
self-complacency.      If  you  start  out  on  the  wrong  road,  the 


THE    teacher's    PREPARATION.  205 

longer  and  faster  you  walk  the  farther  you  are  from  your 
destination. 

But  if  either  factor  nnist  be  slighted,  which  one  shall 
it  be?  Which  is  better,  much  scholarship  and  little 
method,  or  little  scholarship  and  much  method?  The 
answer  to  this  question  cannot  for  a  moment  be  held  in 
doubt.  Both  theory  and  experience  declare  for  scholar- 
ship. In  fact,  the  enthusiasm  of  knowledge  is  a  prime 
requisite  of  the  best  teaching.  Few  school  spectacles  are 
more  painful  than  that  of  a  poor  teacher  eking  out  slender 
learning  with  an  excess  of  method.  The  good  scholar 
without  professional  training  will  commonly  stagger 
more  or  less  at  first,  but,  if  he  have  the  root  of  the  matter 
in  him,  he  will  find  his  feet;  while  the  teacher  of  an 
ill-organized  mind  and  small  equipment  gives  little  promise 
of  ever  overcoming  his  limitations.  The  what  will  catch 
the  hozv  long  before  the  how  will  overtake  the  what.  And 
this  is  why  all  sound  educators  plead  for  the  improvement 
of  the  academical  equipment  of  the  teachers  of  the  countr\-. 


X. 

HISTORY  TEACHING   IN  SCHOOLS. 


HE  Report  of  the  Conference  on  History,  Civil 
Government,  and  Political  Economy,  made  to 
the  Committee  of  Ten,  is  a  document  of  forty 
octavo  pages,  the  foundation  of  which  is  com- 
posed of  some  thirty-five  resolutions  that  were  carefully 
elaborated  by  the  distinguished  scholars  and  teachers  who 
composed  the  Conference,  while  the  superstructure  is  built 
up  by  a  careful  exposition  of  these  resolutions,  and  their 
enforcement  by  appropriate  arguments,  the  whole  consti- 
tuting a  solid  and  valuable  body  of  pedagogical  doctrine. 
Merely  to  summarize  this  Report  and  to  comment  on  its 
salient  features,  would  perhaps  hardly  meet  the  expecta- 
tions of  the  hour.  So  I  shall  take  up  the  subject  de  novo, 
making  such  references  to  the  Report  as  will  conduce  to 
the  stronger  presentation  of  my  own  ideas.  I  shall  begin 
with  assigning  to  history  its  proper  place  in  a  full  scheme 
of  education. 

That  expansion  or  growth  of  the  human  mind  which 
we  call  education,  originates  in  the  contact  of  the  mind 
itself  with  facts  or  objects  of  knowledge.  We  are  not 
here  concerned  with  the  speculative  aspects  of  this  sub- 
ject;   but  we  must  emphasize  the  fact   that   all   mental 

'  A  paper  read  before  the  Department  of  Superintendence  of 
the  National  Educational  Association,  at  Cleveland,  O.,  February, 
1895.  The  full  caption  of  the  paper  on  the  programme  was: 
"  Historj-  Teaching  in  Schools,  with  some  Reference  to  the  Report 
of  the  Conference  on  History  to  the  Committee  of  Ten." 

200 


HISTORY    TEACHING    IN    SCHOOLS. 


207 


activity — the  whole  train  of  cognition,  feeling,  and  will — 
has  its  rise  in  the  establishment  of  such  points  of  contact. 
Potent  as  the  mind  is,  it  cannot  act,  and  so  cannot  make 
increase,  in  vacuum.  These  facts  or  objects  of  knowledge 
are  divisible  into  three  classes,  the  facts  of  Nature,  the 
facts  of  Society,  and  the  facts  of  the  Mind  itself.  These 
are  the  primordial  agents  or  factors  of  human  cultivation, 
as  seen  both  in  individual  history  and  in  race  history.  In 
both  spheres,  they  antedate  teachers  and  schools  and  edu- 
cation, as  these  terms  are  commonly  understood.  In  the 
attrition  of  the  mind  with  natural  facts,  originates  natural 
science;  in  attrition  with  social  facts,  social  and  moral 
science;  and  in  attrition  with  mental  facts,  mental  vScience. 
To  define  the  relations  of  these  several  groups  of  factors, 
and  their  comparative  values,  is  beside  the  present  pur- 
pose, except  to  say  that,  for  the  most  part,  they  run  side 
by  side  through  the  conscious  life;  that  their  interaction  is 
constant  and  powerful,  although  not  uniform  in  different 
persons  or  in  different  periods  of  the  individual  life ;  and 
that  they  are  all  essential  in  something  like  relative 
measure  to  a  well  developed  mind. 

These  primordial  agents  of  human  cultivation  are 
powerfully  re-enforced  by  a  secondary  group.  As  the 
first  men  and  women  acquired  experience  through  attri- 
tion with  the  worlds  of  nature,  of  society,  and  of  the 
spirit,  they  imparted  to  one  another  what  they  had  learned, 
and  thus  taught  one  another.  Ex  hypothesi,  up  to  this 
time  all  knowledge  had  come  from  original  sources; 
henceforth  second-hand,  or  derivative,  knowledge,  and  so 
tradition  and  authority,  play  their  part.  So  we  are  led  to 
analyze  the  group  of  secondary  factors.  First  in  time  and 
in  power,  comes  spoken  language  or  oral  tradition;  then 
follow  material  monuments  of  various  kinds;  next  come 
symbols,    including  the    rude  art  of  the  savage,   picture 


208  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

writing,  and  the  Parthenon  frieze,  and  last  of  all  writing 
and  its  corollary,  printing.  These  last  factors  of  culti- 
vation are  plainly  derivative;  they  mean  nothing  save  as 
they  rest  upon  a  previous  culture.  Their  relations  to  one 
another,  and  to  the  primary  factors,  do  not  here  concern 
us,  be3'ond  the  observation  that  there  has  been  a  ten- 
dency, and  particularly  since  the  invention  of  movable 
types,  to  exaggerate  the  fourth  division  of  the  secondary 
group. 

Avoiding  all  the  questions  that  are  suggested  by 
the  words  "humanism,'  "classicism,"  "realism,"  and 
'  'naturalism, ' '  let  us  fix  the  location  of  history  in  the  chart 
of  human  culture.  First,  however,  the  Father  of  History 
wrote  his  immortal  book,  as  he  .says,  that  the  actions 
of  men  might  not  be  effaced  by  time,  nor  the  wondrous 
deeds  of  the  Greeks  and  the  Barbarians  be  forgotten.  He 
has  thus  defined  in  a  general  way  the  field  of  history:  it 
is  the  field  of  the  actions  or  deeds  of  men.  But  what 
actions  or  deeds  does  it  embrace  ?  Shunning  the  various 
controversies  that  a  detailed  answer  would  perhaps  excite, 
let  us  say  that  history  is  the  story  of  man's  more  serious 
and  valuable  experience  in  the  most  important  spheres  of 
his  activity — in  politics,  war,  religion,  art,  industrial 
achievement,  education,  scientific  discovery,  and  moral 
endeavor;  and  that  its  sources  go  back  to  every  one  of  the 
secondary  agents  of  education — tradition,  monuments, 
.symbolism ,  and  the  written  page .  Seizing  first  those  actions 
of  men  that  constitute  the  body  of  history,  the  student 
rests  not  until  he  has  discovered  the  spiritual  elements  out 
of  which  these  actions  have  sprung.  History  is  therefore 
philosophy  teaching  by  examples.  Even  Froude,  who 
.scorned  both  the  science  and  the  philosophy  of  history, 
and  .said  it  was  but  a  drama,  admitted  that  it  does  teach 
the  difference  between  right  and  wrong.      And  when  this 


-: OS  P'  '^i Oi^i  ''^'^   n 
HISTORY  TEACHmG^nr^KCTTOors.  209 

much  is  said,  what  need  be  added  to  show  its  high  educa- 
tional vahie  ?  History  is  one  of  the  main  channels  through 
which  the  experience  of  the  race  is  communicated  to  us; 
and  to  ask  whether  it  is  worth  while  to  pay  attention  to 
what  it  conveys,  is  to  ask  whether  it  is  worth  while  to 
defer  to  experience  at  all.  If  it  is  profitable  to  study  the 
formation  of  crystals,  the  hatching  of  eggs,  the  germina- 
tion and  growth  of  seeds,  and  the  surrounding  social  en- 
vironment, a  fortiore  is  it  j^rofitajjle  to  study  the  evolution 
of  humanity  from  its  lowest  to  its  highest  forms.  As  in 
the  lower  sphere  of  life  man  cannot  reach  his  ends  when 
cut  off  from  association  with  men,  so  he  cannot  meet  the 
ends  of  the  higher  sphere  when  cut  off  from  the  past. 

Having  thus  assigned  to  history  its  place  in  the  circle 
of  educational  agents,  I  do  not  think  that  it  is  necessar\- 
to  insist,  point  by  point,  that  it  trains  the  memory,  stimu- 
lates the  imagination,  furnishes  guiding  knowledge,  and 
cultivates  the  faculties  of  reason.  But  I  would  ohserve, 
with  Bishop  Stubbs,  that  history  is  a  great  school  of  the 
judgment;  and  all  the  more  valuable  because  it  deals  with 
moral  or  probable  elements,  or  just  such  elements  as  the 
pupil  now  encounters  in  the  home,  the  school,  and  the 
church,  and  just  such  elements  as  he  will  encounter  in 
the  town  meeting,  on  'change,  in  legislative  halls,  and  in 
administrative  ofiices.  "If  you  would  understand  hi.s- 
tory,"  said  Charles  Kingsley,  "study  men."  How 
desirable  it  is  that  all  persons  in  public  life,  and  especi- 
ally educators  in  every  sphere,  .should  be  trained  in 
this  great  school!  In  any  active  political  community,  the 
study  of  the  history  of  asiii^r  connnunity  is  the  study  of 
reaUife;  and  it  fits  the  .studMjLfor  practical  affairs  in  as 
real  a  sense  as  work  in  a  biold^cal  laboratory  fits  him  for 
the  study  of  animated  nature. 


2IO  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

The  views  presented  are  also  conclusive  on  another 
point,  viz:  that  the  subject  of  history  should  receive  more 
attention  than  at  present  in  the  schools.  The  only  open 
question  is,  How  much  more?  The  Conference  on 
History  declares  in  resolution  1,  that  history  and  kindred 
subjects  should  be  a  substantial  school  stud}'  in  each  one  of 
eij^ht  school  years;  in  resolution  2,  that  this  work  should 
be  consecutive ;  while  the  amounts  of  time  recommended  in 
resolutions  14,  10,  17,  to  be  set  apart  to  the  various  divi- 
sions of  the  subject,  are  not  less  than  three  forty-minute 
periods  throughout  the  eight  years,  or  a  total  of  about 
nine  hundred  exercises  in  all.  Moreover,  the  Conference 
urges  that  this  total  shall  be  equally  divided  between  the 
grammar  school  and  the  high  school.  The  Committee  of 
Ten,  dealing  with  high  schools  only,  fails  to  meet  the 
views  of  the  Conference  in  both  the  main  points.  In  its 
model  classical  covirse  it  puts  four  periods  a  week  in  the 
first  year,  three  in  the  second  year,  none  in  the  third  year, 
and  only  offers  three  in  the  fourth  year  as  an  alternative 
for  mathematics.  In  the  Latin  and  Scientific  course  the 
assignment  is  four  periods  the  first  year,  none  the  second, 
two  the  third,  and  the  same  alternative  the  fourth  as  in 
the  Classical  course.  These  requirements  the  Modern 
Language  course  merely  duplicates.  In  the  English 
course  history  fares  better.  Four  periods  are  given  it  in 
the  first  3'ear,  three  the  second,  four  the  third,  and  three 
the  fourth.  The  minimum  is  a  total  of  six  periods,  or 
about  two  hundred  and  forty  exercises;  the  maximum 
fourteen  periods,  or  about  five  hundred  and  sixty 
exercises.  We  need  not  suppose  that  the  failure  of  the 
Committee  to  meet  the  views  of  the  Conference  is  a  case 
of  loving  Caesar  less  or  Rome  more,  but  a  case  of  finding 
suitable  room  for  all  the  studies  that  it  felt  bound  to 
accommodate.      The  superintendent  of    .schools   also   is 


HISTORY   TEACHING    IN    SCHOOLS.  211 

quite  certain  to  demand  of  the  Conference  where  he  is  to 
find  time  for  nine  hundred  exercises  in  history.  Into 
these  questions  of  detail  it  is  less  important  now  to  enter 
than  it  is  to  insist  that  more  time  shall  be  found  for  the 
subject,  e^'en  at  the  cost  of  reducing  somewhat  the  time 
accorded  to  other  subjects.  Asked  to  name  what  subjects, 
I  should  sa}^ — in  the  grammar  school,  arithmetic  and 
geography;  in  the  high  school,  mathematics,  language, 
and  phj-sical  science.  This,  be  it  obser\'-ed  again,  in  case 
it  is  necessary. 

At  what  stage  of  his  school  life  should  the  pupil  be 
introduced  to  history  ?  The  reply  of  the  Conference  is, 
at  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  year.  My  own  reply  is,  at 
the  beginning  of  the  first  year.  On  this  point  the  practice 
of  the  Herbartian  pedagogists  is  in  the  main  correct.  I  am 
not  now  particular  to  inquire  whether  or  not  "the  material 
for  the  instruction  that  is  to  mould  character  should  be 
sought  in  the  development  of  the  national  culture,  which 
is  to  be  followed  in  its  chief  epochs  ;"  or  whether  Gesun- 
jimigs-Stoff  s\iovX6i.  control  education  in  its  early  stages; 
or  whether  ' '  history  and  literature  naturally  constitute 
the  core  of  concentration;"  or,  indeed,  whether,  in  the 
Herbartian  sense,  there  is  such  a  core.  It  answers  my 
purpose  to  insist  upon  the  introduction  of  history  into  the 
first  }'ear  of  the  school,  and  upon  its  continuance  to  the 
end  thereof.  Perhaps  it  would  be  difficult  to  arrange  for 
a  German  child  a  better  introduction  to  the  subject  than 
Ziller's  double  historical  series,  irrespective  of  the  theo- 
retical views  that  lie  back  of  it.     This  is  the  series: 

First  year,  Grimm's  Fairy  Tales;  second  year,  Robinson  Crusoe; 
third  year,  (1)  Bible  Stories  from  the  time  of  the  Patriarchs,  {1) 
Legends  of  Thuringia;  fourth  year,  (1)  Bible  Stories  from  the 
time  of  the  Judges,  then  of  the  Kings,  ("2)  Niebelungen  Tales; 
fifth  year,  (1)  Bible  Stories  from  the  time  of  Christ,  (2)  History  of 


212  STUDIES    IX    EDUCATION. 

Henr}'  I,  Otto  I,  Charlemagne;  sixth  year,  (1)  Bible  Stories  from 
the  time  of  Christ  continued,  (2)  Migration  of  the  Nations,  Roman 
Empire  and  the  Popes,  the  Crusades,  the  Middle  Ages,  Rudolf 
von  Hapsburg;  seventh  ^ear,  (1)  the  Original  Congregations  of 
Churches  and  the  Apostle  Paul,  (2)  Discovery  of  America  and  its 
first  settlement,  history  of  the  Reformation,  the  Thirty  Years' 
War;  eighth  3'ear,  (1)  Instruction  in  the  Catechism,  (2)  Frederick 
the  Great,  the  Napoleonic  Wars  for  Independence,  the  Restoration 
of  the  German  Enipire.  * 

Around  this  core  all  other  instruction  is  grouped. 
One  reason  for  making  such  large  use  of  the  Bible,  is 
the  fact  that  Biblical  history  is  everj-where  taught  in  the 
German  schools. 

When  the  child  comes  to  school,  at  the  age  of  six  j'ears, 
he  is  eager  for  stories,  perhaps  for  the  reason  that  their 
soul  is  activity,  of  which  he  is  so  fond;  stories  are  congru- 
ous with  his  reading  and  language  lessons,  and  wath  the 
books  that  he  learns  to  read  outside  of  school;  while  they 
may  be  so  chosen  that  they  shall  convey  valuable  content, 
furnishing  the  very  stuff  that  the  child  both  wants  and 
needs.  Furthermore,  what  is  the  story  but  a  simple  form 
of  history?  Some  etymological  accident  made  "story" 
by  knocking  a  sjdlable  off  from  "histor)-."  Story  and 
history  are  but  earlier  and  later  forms  of  tradition,  and 
at  first  they  differed  only  in  the  kind  of  language  in 
which  they  were  told.  In  time  history  assumed  a  more 
dignified  form;  but  in  Herodotus  the  early  form  is  very 
observable,  while  it  is  still  common  to  call  the  masters  of 
historical  narration  great  story-tellers.  It  is  not  a  conceit 
to  say  that  there  is  a  striking  parallelism  between  the 
development  of  historical  knowledge  in  the  individual  and 
the  development  of  historical  art.  The  child  listening  to 
nurse's  tale  or  old  wife's  fable,  the  child  pouring  over  his 
book  of  stories,   full  of  incident  and  adventure,  and  the 

1  De  Garmo:  Herbart  and  the  Herbartians,  pp.  119,  120. 


HISTORY    TEACHING    IN    SCHOOLS,  213 

child  studying  his  book  of  formal  history  travels  in  a  few 
years  that  long  road  the  three  sections  of  which  are 
marked  in  historj'  by  oral  tradition,  by  such  writings  as 
those  of  Herodotus,  Livy,  and  Froissart,  and  by  the  pro- 
found works  of  Thucydides,  Tacitus,  and  Polybius.  ISTow 
it  is  more  than  probable  that  the  members  of  the  Confer- 
ence on  History  would  agree  to  all  that  I  am  saying,  with 
the  proviso  that  they  do  not  call  tales  history.  But  I  should 
reply  that,  pedagogically  speaking,  there  is  no  qualita- 
tive difference  between  them;  and  that  you  can  no  more 
separative  the  three  periods  in  the  child's  life  sharply  than 
you  can  separate  them  sharply  in  the  history  of  the  race. 
Still,  I  am  not  sure  that  the  Conference  would  meet  my 
views,  because  it  makes  no  mention  of  either  biography 
or  mythology  until  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  school  grade. 

What  shall  be  the  range  of  the  work  attempted  ?  What 
the  subjects  chOvSen?  The  Conference  answers  with  the 
following  programme : ' — 

First  year. — Biography  and  mythology. 

Second  year.— Biography  and  mythology. 

Third  year. — American  history  and  elements  of  civil  govern- 
ment. 

'It  was  not  mentioned  in  this  paper,  as  no  doubt  it  should  have 
been,  that  the  Conference  also  framed  an  alternative  six-year 
course  for  schools  which  are  not  able  to  support  the  longer  pro- 
gramme, viz: 

First  year. — Biography  and  mythology. 

Second  year.— Biography  and  mythology.  [In  the  intervening 
year  or  years,  if  any,  historical  reading  should  be  pursued  as  a 
part  of  language  study.] 

Third  year.— American  history  and  civil  government.  [At  this 
point  the  pupil  would  naturally  enter  the  high  school.] 

Fourth  year.— Greek  and  Roman  history,  with  their  Oriental 
connections. 

Fifth  year.— English  history.  [To  l)e  so  taught  as  to  elucidate 
the  general  movement  of  medieval  and  modern  history.] 

Sixth  year.— American  history  and  civil  government. 


214  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

Fourth  year. — Greek  and  Roman  history,  with  their  Oriental 
connections.  [At  this  point  the  pitpil  wonld  naturally  enter  the 
high  school.] 

Fifth  year. — French  history.  [To  be  so  taught  as  to  elucidate 
the  general  movement  of  medieval  and  modern  history.] 

Sixth  year. — English  history.  [To  be  so  taught  as  to  elucidate 
the  general  movement  of  medieval  and  modern  history.] 

Seventh  year. — American  historj-. 

Eighth  year. — A  special  period,  studied  in  an  intensive  manner, 
and  civil  government. 

Before  commenting  on  this  scheme,  I  wish  to  present  the 
one  that  is  followed  in  the  elementary  schools  of  Baden, 
Germany: — 

First  year  (third  grade).  Historical  tales  related  by  the  teacher 
and  repeated  by  the  pupils  several  times. 

Second  and  third  years  (fourth  and  fifth  grades).  Historical 
tales  continued,  their  number  augmented.  Brief  outline  of  the 
historj'  of  the  village  or  town  and  the  district,  the  latter  connected 
with  the  geography  of  the  district.  Short  biographies  of  national 
heroes. 

Fourth  year  (sixth  grade).  Brief  outline  of  Grecian  and  Roman 
history.  Several  parts  dealt  with  in  a  more  detailed  way;  e.  g.,  the 
Persian  wars.  Alexander  the  Great,  the  wars  between  the  Romans 
and  Germans,  the  invasion  of  the  Barbarians.  Historical  com- 
positions embracing  both  biographies  and  tales.  Historical  essays 
in  the  reading-book,  read  and  explained. 

Fifth  year  (seventh  grade).  History  of  the  Middle  Ages  in 
Germany,  dealt  with  in  the  same  waj-  as  the  ancient  history  in  the 
fourth  year.  Much  stress  laid  upon  the  Crusades  and  the  end  of  the 
Middle  Ages.  Historical  tales,  biographies,  essays  in  the  reading- 
book  as  in  the  fourth  year. 

Sixth  year  (eighth  grade).  Modern  times,  especially  in  Ger- 
many. History  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  the  Seven  Years'  War, 
the  wars  against  Napoleon,  and  the  war  of  1870-71  dealt  with  in  a 
complete  manner.  History  of  France  from  1648  to  181'),  chiefly 
the  French  Revolution,  Tales,  biographies,  essays  continued; 
longer  compositions  (the  pupils')  than  previously. 

In  teaching  history,  no  text-book  is  used;  only  oral  instruction 
by  the  teacher,  and  a  few  notes  taken  by  the  pupils. 


HISTORY    TEACHING    IN    SCHOOLS. 


215 


This  programme  suggests  one  important  point  of  differ- 
ence between  German  and  American  history.  Germany 
has  long  lain  directly  in  the  main  stream  of  the  world- 
movement,  while  America  from  the  beginning  has  lain 
outside  of  this  stream.  German  history  is  primarily  a 
part  of  general  history,  while  American  history  is  such 
only  in  a  secondary  degree.  The  German  pupil  estab- 
lishes his  historical  connections  with  the  world-movement 
directly,  the  American  pupil  only  by  the  way  of  England. 
Then,  historically,  as  well  as  geographically,  the  German 
is  much  nearer  to  Greece  and  Rome.  To  a  great  extent  the 
German's  study  of  Italy  or  France  is  a  study  of  Germany 
itself,  but  in  our  case  this  is  true  only  to  a  limited  degree. 
The  result  is  that  the  German  pupil  makes  the  transition 
from  national  history  to  general  history  far  more  easily 
than  the  American.  This  view  of  the  subject  is  little 
likely  to  be  questioned.  It  is  here  presented  as  a  reason 
for  questioning  the  wisdom  of  introducing  Greek  and 
Roman  history,  with  their  Oriental  connections,  at  least 
as  a  formal  study,  into  the  grammar  school.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  the  typical  pupil  of  fourteen  years  of 
age  is  not  very  mature  in  mind.  Besides,  it  may  well  be 
doubted  also  whether,  if  foreign  history  is  to  be  intro- 
duced into  the  grammar  school,  it  would  not  be  better  to 
introduce  portions  of  English  history.  I  cannot  think 
the  German  example  at  this  point  is  a  safe  one  to  follow. 
But  while  I  have  serious  doubts  about  the  formal  study  of 
Greece  and  Rome  at  this  stage  of  progress,  I  have  none 
whatever  about  bringing  in,  not  merely  the  fable,  the 
myth,  and  the  legend  found  in  Homer  and  \^irgil,  but 
also  the  biographies  of  the  Grecian  and  Roman  heroes  and 
sages.  Can  we  not  rehabilitate  Plutarch,  and  if  we  can, 
would  it  not  be  worth  more  to  our  youth  than  such  formal 
study  of  Grecian  and  Roman  history   as  would   be  possi- 


2l6  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

ble,  no  matter  whether  he  goes  to  the  high  school  or  at 
once  to  acti\-e  life  ? 

It  should  be  observed,  also,  that  the  German  programme 
says  nothing  directl>'  about  the  Orient,  and  that  the 
American  programme  onl}-  mentions  its  connections  with 
Greece  and  Rome.  To  be  sure,  nobody  knows  very 
definitely  what  their  earl}-  "connections"  were,  but  I 
assume  that  the  Conference  would  not  go  back  of  the  great 
struggle  between  Persia  and  Greece.  Everybody  should 
have  a  general  knowledge  of  the  Hebrew  Bible;  but 
be3'ond  this  we  should  not,  in  general  education,  concern 
ourselves  with  Asia  until  we  reach  the  epoch  across 
which  are  written  in  letters  of  light  the  names  Marathon, 
Thermopylae,  Salamis,  Platea.  For  practical  purposes, 
outside  of  religion,  we  may  regard  general  history  as 
beginning  with  Greece-  Whatever  one  may  think  of 
some  of  Dr.  Freeman's  historical  theories,  he  will  hardly 
dissent  from  these  words  in  respect  to  Greece: 

The  Greeks,  with  their  man^'  small  states,  were  the  first 
people  from  whom  we  can  learn  any  lessons  in  the  art  of  politics, 
the  art  of  ruling  and  pursuing  men  according  to  law.  The  little 
commonwealths  of  Greece  were  the  first  states  at  once  free  and 
civilized  which  the  world  ever  saw.  They  were  the  first  states 
which  gave  birth  to  great  statesmen,  orators,  and  generals,  who 
did  great  deeds,  and  to  great  historians,  who  set  down  those  great 
deeds  in  writing.  It  was  in  the  Greek  commonwealths,  in  short, 
that  the  political  and  intellectual  life  of  the  world  began  * 

Or  from  these  words  in  respect  to  Rome  : 

The  nations  which  have  stood  out  foremost  among  all  have 
been  the  Greeks,  the  Romans,  and  the  Teutons.  And  among 
the.se  it  is  the  Romans  who  formed  the  center  of  the  whole  storj-. 
Rome  alone  founded  a  universal  empire,  in  which  all  earlier 
hi-stor}-  loses  itself  and  out  of  which  all  later  history  grew.- 

^  General  Sketch  of  History,  pp  21,  22. 

'■'Ibid,  pp.  If),  17. 


HISTORY    TEACHING    IN    SCHOOLS,  21 7 

On  otie  point  tliat  the  Conference  has  touched,  I  wish 
to  utter  no  uncertain  sound.  The  "acquirements  of  a 
body  of  useful  facts"  is  pronounced  "the  most  difficult 
and  the  least  important  outcome  of  historical  study." 
The  principal  end  of  history  in  the  schools,  as  of  all 
education,  is  declared  to  be  the  training  of  the  mind.  To 
these  expressions,  properly  understood,  there  can  be  no 
rational  objection.  Still,  the}-  seem  to  ring  of  the  venerable 
dogma  of  formal  discipline.  The}'  seem  almost  to  suggest 
that  profitable  historical  stud}-  can  be  carried  on  without 
the  acquirement  of  a  body  of  useful  facts.  While  it  is 
true  that  the  acquisition  of  facts  and  real  mental  training 
are  not  necessarily  measures  each  of  the  other,  still  they 
cannot  be  wholly  separated,  and  in  good  teaching  they 
are  not  separated  at  all.  The  mind  cannot  be  disciplined 
by  nothing;  it  works  only  as  it  works  upon  something. 
For  one,  I  stand  much  in  fear  that  the  facts  taught 
in  the  schools  will  not  be  well  chosen,  and  that  they  will 
not  be  well  taught  ;  but,  waiving  these  two  points,  I  have 
no  fear  that  too  many  facts  will  be  taught,  unless,  indeed, 
the  subject  is  allowed  to  encroach  upon  other  subjects.  To 
suppose  that  too  many  facts  will  be  taught,  is  to  suppose 
that  too  much  history  will  be  taught.  However,  I  have  no 
good  word  to  say  for  the  old-fashioned  memoriter  method, 
and  cheerfully  grant  that  the  facts  are  only  a  means  to 
an  end. 

At  this  point  I  wish  to  read,  with  some  comments  of 
my  own,  a  statement  recently  made  by  Professor  H. 
Morse  Stephens,  who  came  the  last  year  from  Oxford  to 
teach  European  history  at  Cornell  University. 

Professor  Morse  Stephens,  Cornell's  new  Professor  of  Euro- 
pean History  from  Oxford,  has  made  some  interesting  compari- 
sons between  English  and  American  college  students.  He  con- 
cludes that  the  average  American    undergraduate  takes  a  more 


2l8  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

comprehensive  view  of  history,  has  a  better  grasp  of  its  essential 
facts,  and  surpasses  his  English  cousin  of  corresponding  grade  in 
power  of  generalization;  but  the  American  student  is  lamentably 
deficient  in  his  knowledge  of  details  and  also  writes  very  poor 
Knglish.  Professor  Stephens  thought  the  essays  written  by  his 
undergraduate  students  at  Cornell  Avere  on  the  whole  better  than 
similar  essays  written  b}*  English  students  at  Cambridge,  although 
he  sharply  criticised  the  spelling,  grammar,  and  generally  care- 
less style  of  the  Americans.  When,  however,  he  set  his  Ameri- 
can students  an  examination  of  twenty  questions  concerning 
dates  and  places,  he  was  overwhelmed  by  the  lack  of  knowledge 
of  facts  displa^'ed  in  the  answers.  More  than  half  of  the  class 
failed  to  pass  the  examination,  the  average  percentage  being 
abovit  40,  and  as  a  rule  the  students  who  wrote  the  best  essays 
handed  in  the  poorest  examination  papers.  * 

Competent  judges  are  not  likel}'  to  question  the  general 
accuracy  of  this  interesting  statement.  The  explanation 
of  the  facts  stated  is  found  mainly  in  the  aims  of  English 
and  American  education,  and  in  the  methods  of  instruc- 
tions that  are  employed,  particularly  in  the  secondar>- 
schools.  First,  English  teachers  lean  more  on  lectures, 
or  other  oral  instruction,  and  so  on  writing  and  note- 
books; American  teachers,  more  on  oral  recitations  and 
on  general  sunnnaries.  One  result  is  that  the  English 
boy  is  trained  to  spell  and  write  better,  and  to  use  more 
correct  English,  than  the  American  boy.  The  one  is 
methodical  and  correct  in  form  where  the  other  is  dis- 
cursive and  slip-shod.  But,  .secondly,  the  American 
pupil's  peculiar  discipline  gives  him  comprehensive  views 
of  a  .subject,  a  better  gra.sp  of  large  facts,  and  a  consid- 
erable mastery  of  generalizations,  which  have  their 
unhappy  compen.sation  in  a  deficient  knowledge  of  details, 
as  well  as  a  defective  use  of  English.  The  American 
pupil  is  certainly  not  strong  in  names  and  places.  The 
natural  tendency  of  the  recitation  method  is  here  rein- 

>  The  Dial,  January  Ifi,  ISp.'^. 


HISTORY    TEACHING    IN    SCHOOLS. 


219 


forced  by  the  very  common  disposition  on  the  part  of 
teachers  to  disparage  details.     A  mere  fact  !  only  a  date  ! 
is  the  contemptuous  phrase  with  which  the  careless  or 
ignorant    teacher    often    dismisses   one    of    those    little 
things  that  constitute  the  very  staple  of  history.     In  some 
quarters  it  has  actually  come  to  be  a  fashion  to  disparage 
the  man  of  large  information,  of  full  knowledge,   regard- 
ing him  merely  as  a  patient  drudge.     It  is  now  common 
to  berate  the  schools  for  teaching  too  many  facts.     Facts 
may  possibly  be  badly  taught  in  the  schools,  or  they  may 
be   ill   chosen;  it  is   not   true,  however,  that   American 
pupils  are  strong  in  facts,  but  the  contrary.     In  the  third 
place,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  typical  English  boy 
who  conies  up  to  the  University  has  received  a  more  reg- 
ular, a  more  systematic,  and  a  more  thorough  training  than 
the  typical  American  bo}'.     Of  its  kind,  he  has  been  taught 
in  a  better  school.     Once  more,  it  is  an  old  .saying  that 
the  English  mind  runs  to  details  rather  than  to  general 
views  and  philosophical  principles.     Such  is  the  con.stant 
charge  of  the  French  and  German  critics.      While  there 
can   be   no   dovibt   that   the    English   mind    handles   an 
enormous  amount  of  fact-material,  it  may  still  be  doubted 
whether  Englishmen  are  remarkable  for  a  nice  accuracy  in 
their  facts.     There  is  reason  to  think  the  contrar3\     The 
question  whether  the   American  student,  with  his  good 
essay  and  poor  examination  paper,  is  better  or  worse  oif 
than   the   English   student,    with  his  good  examination 
paper  and  poor  essay,  is  a  question  that  will  not  here  be 
considered;  the  truth  is  that  measurable  excellence  should 
be  obtained  in  both  exercises. 

Perhaps  no  part  of  the  Report  of  the  Conference  has 
provoked  more  criticisms  than  the  recommendation  in 
respect  to  the  intensive  study  of  some  period  of  history. 


220  STUDIES    IX    EDUCATION. 

or  some  historical  subject.  It  will  have  been  observed 
that  such  study  is  found  in  the  schools  of  Baden.  The 
recommendation  seems  to  me  a  good  one,  provided  time 
can  be  found  to  do  the  work,  and  provided  the  phrase 
"intensive  study"  be  understood  in  a  sense  sufficiently 
limited  or  relative. 

Worthy  of  all  praise  are  the  remarks  that  both  the 
Conference  and  the  Committee  of  Ten  have  offered  on 
the  importance  of  saving  time  through  the  better  co-ordi- 
nation of  subjects.  Without  entering  upon  the  general 
merits  of  the  doctrine  of  Concentration,  about  which  we 
are  now  hearing  so  much,  I  wish  to  say  that  instruction 
in  history,  in  language  and  composition,  in  geography 
and  ci\'il  government,  can  be  so  organized  as  at  once  to 
save  time  and  to  secure  better  results  than  at  present. 
These  subjects  are  as  congruous  as  any  subjects  found  in 
the  curriculum,  and  are  as  capable  of  close  articulation. 

It  is  not  necessar}'  to  go  with  Dr.  Freeman  in  declaring 
that  the  fields  of  politics  and  liistor}-  are  co-extensive,  in 
order  to  find  firm  ground  on  which  to  rest  the  teaching  of 
civil  government  in  the  schools.  I  quote  with  entire 
approval  resolutions  28  and  29  adopted  by  the  Conference: 

That  Civil  Government  in  the  grammar  schools  should  be 
taught  by  oral  lessons,  with  the  use  of  collateral  text-books,  and 
in  connection  with  U.  S.  History  and  local  geography. 

That  Civil  Government  in  the  high  schools  should  be  taught 
by  using  a  text-book  as  a  basis,  with  collateral  reading  and  topical 
work,  and  observation  and  instruction  in  the  government  of  the 
city  or  town  and  state  in  which  the  pupils  live,  and  with  compari- 
sons between  American  and  foreign  systems  of  goverment. 

This  direct  observation  and  sttidy  of  the  government  of 
the  city,  town,  and  state  is  equally  important,  and  even 
more  important,  in  grammar  .schools;  foreign  systems  of 
government,  for  tlie  most  part,  and  certainly  comparisons 


HISTORY    TEACHING    IN    SCHOOLS.  221 

between  them  and  our  own  systems,  should  be  deferred 
to  the  high  school. 

The  Report  closes  with  the  recommendation  that  only 
teachers  who  have  had  adequate  special  training  shall  be 
employed  to  teach  history  and  related  subjects.  To  the 
obvious  objection  that  such  teachers  are  not  to  be  found 
in  numbers  sufficient  to  cany  out  the  programme  in  the 
schools  of  the  country,  the  Conference  would  probably 
reply  that  the  teachers  can  be  provided  as  rapidly  as  the 
schools  can  be  put  in  shape  to  receive  them. 

The  present  subject,  as  well  as  .several  others  on  the 
programme,  has  been  immediatel}'  suggested  by  the  dis- 
cussion that  has  been  going  on  the  last  three  or  four  3'ears 
relative  to  secondary  education.  In  this  discussion  the 
central  questions  have  been.  What  studies  shall  form  the 
staple  of  such  education?  and,  In  what  order  and  pro- 
portion shall  they  be  combined  ?  Upon  only  one  phase 
of  the  general  subject  do  I  wish  to  comment.  Causes 
that  are  here  wholly  irrelevant  imposed  upon  the  nations 
of  modern  Europe  a  foreign  culture  conveyed  in  foreign 
tongues.  The  ancient  classics  became,  not  merely  a  de- 
partment of  study,  but  practically  the  field  of  study. 
The  fact  was  most  anomalous.  The  ancient  Jews,  who 
certainly  proved  themselves  a  tough  and  enduring  nation, 
knew  no  literature  and  no  history  outside  of  their  incom- 
parable Scriptures,  which  were  to  them  a  national  litera- 
ture in  the  best  sense  of  the  term,  and  not  merely  a  book 
of  religion.  The  Greeks,  who  were  the  ablest  race 
intellectually  that  the  world  has  seen,  were  nourished 
exclusively  upon  a  national  vernacular  culture.  Even 
the  estabhshment  of  the  Greek  arts  in  Rome  following 
the  conquest  of  Greece,  fell  far  short  of  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Classical  Tradition  in  breadth  and  permanency 


222  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

of  influence.  In  recent  times  the  power  of  this  tradition 
has  been  broken;  it  is  no  longer  considered  necessary  that 
an  educated  man  shall  study  Greek,  or  even  Latin,  Into 
the  general  merits  of  the  question,  I  do  not  propose  to  go. 
It  is  unmistakable  that  there  has  been  a  strong  drift 
towards  modern  studies.  Has  this  drift  reached  its  limit  ? 
I  cannot  think  so.  While  the  old  humanities  will  never 
l)e  banished  from  the  schools,  they  can  hardly  continue 
to  hold  relatively  even  the  diminished  place  that  they  now 
occupy.  Modern  studies,  and  particularly  vernacular 
studies,  will  encroach  upon  them  still  more.  This  fact 
has  been  very  apparent  in  the  discussions  of  the  last  three 
years.  Moreover,  it  cannot  be  reasonably  doubted  that, 
in  the  future,  increased  emphasis  will  be  laid  upon  the 
national  history  and  literature  as  means  of  forming  the 
national  mind  and  character. 


XL 

THE  MORAL  AND   RELIGIOUS  TRAIN- 
ING OF  CHILDREN.' 

IF  the  various  contributions  that  have  been 
made  to  the  theory  of  education  in  recent 
years,  the  doctrine  of  apperception  is  perhaps 
the  most  important.  This  idea  was  first 
applied  to  philosophy  by  I,eibnitz,  but  its  germ  is  found 
in  one  of  the  works  of  Aristotle."  From  the  time  when 
men  first  began  to  take  note  of  their  own  thought-pro- 
cesses, some  of  them,  at  least,  must  have  seen  more  or 
less  clearly  that  we  look  at  the  world  through  ourselves, 
and  that  what  we  see,  and  what  we  learn,  depends  in 
great  part  upon  what  we  already  know  and  are.  The 
idea  is  not  therefore  really  new.  Still  the  German  peda- 
gogist  Herbart  and  his  disciples  have  analyzed  it  so 
much  more  thoroughly,  have  defined  it  so  much  better, 
and  especially  have  applied  it  to  practice  so  much  more 
fully,  that  it  seems  to  us  almost  a  new  revelation. 

The  word  "apperceive"  is  derived  from  ad,  to,  and  per- 
cepere,  to  grasp   or   to   clasp.      It   literally   signifies   the 

^  An  address  delivered  before  the  Ohio  Christian  Missionary 
Society,  Columbus,  0.,May,  1895. 

2  "All  teaching  and  learning  by  \vay  of  inference  proceed  from 
pre-existent  knowledge.  Of  this  we  may  be  satisfied  by  examina- 
tion of  instances:  it  is  thus  that  the  mathematical  sciences  and  the 
arts  are  acquired;  the  dialectician's  induction  and  syllogism 
both  appeal  to  previous  knowledge,  the  one  of  the  phenomenon, 
the  other  of  the  law:  and  the  orator  persuades  by  example  and 
enthymeme,  the  one  a  kind  of  induction,  the  other  of  syllogism." 
—  The  Posterior  Analytics.     Poste's  translation. 

233 


224  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

grasping  or  clasping  of  one  thing  to  another,  a  uniting, 
adhesive  process.  But  the  Latin  verb  also  means  to  see 
ox  perceive;  so  that,  taken  figuratively,  apperceive  means 
to  see  or  perceive  one  thing  by  7vay  of  another,  or  the  coales- 
cence of  a  new  idea  with  an  old  one  by  modification.  As 
now  used  by  pedagogical  writers,  the  stress  is  thrown 
upon  the  element  of  modification.  One  distinguished 
writer  says  apperception  is  '  'that  psychological  activity 
b}^  which  individual  perceptions,  ideas,  or  idea-complexes 
are  brought  into  relation  to  our  previous  intellectual  and 
emotional  life,  assimilated  with  it  and  thus  raised 
to  greater  clearness,  activity,  and  significance."^  A 
second  writer,  entering  into  more  detail,  says  that  to 
explain  apperception  we  must  contrast  it  with  perception. 
"'\vi  perception  we  have  an  object  presented  to  our  senses, 
but  in  apperception  we  identify  the  object  or  those  features 
of  it  which  were  familiar  to  us  before;  we  recognize  it; 
we  explain  it;  we  interpret  the  new  by  our  previous 
knowledge,  and  thus  are  enabled  to  proceed  from  the 
known  to  the  unknown  and  make  new  acquisitions;  in 
recognizing  the  object  we  classify  it  under  various  general 
classes;  in  identifying  it  with  what  we  have  seen  before, 
we  note  also  differences  which  characterize  the  new  object 
and  lead  to  the  definition  of  new  species  or  varieties. 
.  By  it  we  re-enforce  the  perception  of  the  present 
moment  by  the  aggregate  of  our  own  past  sense-percep- 
tion, and  by  all  that  we  have  learned  of  the  experience 
of  mankind."^ 

Viewing  the  subject  thus,  we  see  that  the  mind  is  not 
something  that  is  inert  and  dead;  not  a  sheet  of  blank 
paper  upon  which  you  may  write  what  you  plea.se;  not  a 

'Dr.  Ivange:  Apperception,  p.  41. 

2  Dr.  W.  T.  Harris:  A  Text-Book  in  Psychology,  by  J.  F.  Her- 
bart.     Trauslatcd  by  Margaret  Smith.     Editor's  Preface. 


MORAL  AXU  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING  OF  CHILDREN.     225 

ball  of  clay  or  wax  to  be  moulded  into  any  form,  but  that 
it  is  rather  a  self-active  principle  or  energy.  It  will  also 
be  seen  at  once  that  the  processes  of  learning  and  teach- 
ing are  not  to  be  compared  to  the  operations  of  a  machine, 
but  rather  to  the  vital  processes  of  vegetable  and  animal 
life.  An  idea  touches  a  new  object  and  changes  it  into 
its  own  nature;  or,  perhaps  it  would  be  better  to  say,  a 
new  object  is  set  like  a  .scion  in  the  stock  of  an  old  idea 
and,  through  assimilation,  becomes  an  idea  it.self.  It  is 
only  the  "engrafted  word"  that  is  able  to  .save  the 
soul. 

Some  simple  illustrations  will  make  these  general  pro- 
positions fully  intelligible.  A  young  child  calls  ever}- 
man  "papa,"  ever}^  woman  "mamma,"  and  attributes  to 
them  the  same  qualities  that  he  has  discovered  in  his 
father  and  mother.  He  .says  his  broken  cart  is  '  'naughty' ' 
becau.se  it  will  not  run,  and,  a.s.suming  that  it  has  life  and 
feeling  like  himself,  proceeds  to  beat  it.  He  feeds  his 
big  toe  with  a  spoon.  One  child  seeing  a  picture  of  a 
.serpent  called  it  a  tail ;  a  second  called  a  swan  that  he 
saw  .swimming  in  the  water  a  fish;  a  third,  brought  up  in 
the  South,  called  snow-flakes  when  he  first  .saw  them 
butterflies;  while  of  two  other  children  who  .stood  looking 
at  a  pair  of  mules,  one  called  them  horses  and  the  other 
rabbits.  Children  of  a  larger  growth  do  the  .same  thing, 
only  they  learn  to  be  more  wary  in  expressing  their  first 
ideas.  When  the  Romans  first  .saw  elephants  they  called 
them  Lucanian  oxen.  Tlie  man  who  has  mo.st  ideas  has 
most  centers  of  assimilation,  and  .so  can  learn  mo.st  rapidly. 
A  botanist  sees  a  hundred  things  in  a  pond  of  water  that 
are  hidden  from  the  clown;  an  old  traveler  is  the  man 
who  finds  most  in  a  new  country;  while  only  a  scholar 
discovers  much  in  a  library.  Accordingly,  it  is  not  .strange 
but  as  natural  as  natural  can  be  that  a  conversation,  a 


226  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

sermon,  or  a  book  is  a  different  thing  to  different  per- 
sons. "What  can  we  see  or  acquire,"  asks  Emerson, 
"but  what  we  are?  You  have  seen  a  skillful  man  read- 
ing Virgil.  Well,  that  author  is  a  thousand  books  to  a 
thousand  persons.  Take  the  book  into  your  own  hands,  and 
read  your  eyes  out;  you  will  never  find  what  I  find.  If 
any  ingenious  reader  would  have  a  monopoly  of  the  wis- 
dom or  the  light  he  gets,  he  is  as  secure,  now  that  the 
book  is  Englished,  as  if  it  were  imprisoned  in  thePelew's 
tongue. ' ' 

Thus  far  the  argument  has  turned  on  sensible  objects. 
But  it  may  turn  on  objects  that  are  not  sensible.  The 
images  that  we  first  form  of  mental  facts  —  our  primal 
notions  of  spiritual  things;  our  early  views  of  men  and 
life;  our  original  opinions  about  subjects, — these  tend  to 
change  the  facts  of  our  later  experience  into  their  own 
image.  The  mind  is  subdued  to  its  material  and  moral 
environment.  A  late  writer  has  said  in  dealing  with  a 
famous  French  woman  who  lived  at  the  beginning  of  this 
century : 

Our  earliest  impressions  of  the  external  world  become, 
imconsciously  to  us,  the  prism  b}'  which  everything  is  afterward 
colored.  With  Chateaubriand,  it  was  the  gloomy  solitudes  of 
Combourg,  the  heavy  mists,  skirting  the  ocean  and  bounded  oul}- 
by  the  forests  through  which  the  storm- winds  whistled.  With 
Lamartine,  it  was  the  hills  of  Milly,  a  country  home  with  quiet 
neighboring  paths,  a  soft  and  filmy  sky,  a  dim  and  fleeting 
horizon,  a  pious  childhood  at  a  Christian  mother's  knee.  With 
]\Iadame  de  Stael,  it  was  in  private  life  the  scenes  of  a  happy 
home,  and  in  public  those  of  a  salon  which  was  the  meeting-place 
of  the  best  intellects  of  the  time, — where  jest  and  inspiration 
followed  each  in  turn;  where  all  literary  questions  and  all  the 
problems  of  the  universe  were  discussed,  and  where,  as  a  contem- 
porary has  remarked,  they  discoursed  endlessly  upon  "the  great 
truths  of  Nature,  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  the  love  of  liberty, 
and  the  charms  and  dangers  of  the  pas,sions."     A  house  like  her 


MORAL  AXD  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING  OF  CHILDREN.     227 

parents'  was  ahvaj's  her  ideal  of  home;  happiness  in  marriage 
was  her  Utopia,  and  to  reign  over  a  salon  was  the  ambition  of  her 
Hfe.t 

From  what  lias  been  said  some  very  important  practical 
conclusions  flow- 

One  is  that  present  ignorance  is  a  bar  to  future  intelli- 
gence. Paradoxical  as  it  may  sound,  a  man  may  be  so 
ignorant  that  he  cannot  learn,  or  at  least  can  learn  but 
little.  It  is  related  that  a  band  of  Esquimaux  walked 
through  the  streets  of  I^ondon  utterly  indifferent  to  their 
surroundings.  "  The  explanation,"  observes  the  writer 
who  furnishes  the  incident,  "is  simple.  These  inhabi- 
tants of  the  frozen  North  had  no  store  of  related  predicates 
with  which  to  interpret  the  wonders  about  them.  We 
have  no  interest  in  that  for  which  we  have  no  under- 
standing, no  related  concepts."^ 

A  second  conclusion  is  that  one's  present  ideas  and 
feelings,  in  addition  to  stimulating  his  mental  activit}', 
also  tend  to  shape  its  character.  The  idea  that  a  child 
has  formed  of  an  object  becomes  a  standard  b>-  which  he 
compares  and  measures  a  new  object,  and  particularl}-  a 
similar  object,  that  is  presented  to  his  mind;  while  the 
feeling  that  he  has  associated  with  one  object  attaches  to 
a  new  object  that  resembles  the  former  one.  Thus  the 
mind,  reacting  upon  environment,  forces  upon  it  its  own 
view  or  nature.  In  so  far  as  the  two  objects  are  alike, 
the  identification  is  correct  and  helpful;  in  so  far  as  the\' 
are  unlike,  it  is  false  and  misleading.  Still  the  child 
gains  more  than  he  looses;  if  he  were  robbed  of  the  power 
of  interpreting  things  through  classification,  and  were  com- 
pelled to  begin  again  at  the  beginning  with  each  new  experi- 
ence, his  growth  in  knowledge  would  be  extremely  slow. 

1  Sorel:  Madame  de  Siael,  p.  7. 

2  DeGarmo:  Essentials  of  Method,  p.  30. 


228  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION'. 

A  third  conclusion  is  that  the  child  should  learn  through 
experience  to  correct  the  false  interpretations  that  he 
tends  to  force  upon  surrounding  objects.  To-day  he  will 
promptly  call  a  snake  a  tail  or  a  mule  a  rabbit,  but 
to-morrow  he  will  hesitate,  will  wait  for  a  fuller  view  of 
the  new  object,  and  so  protect  himself  against  his  own 
first  impression.  The  laughter  that  his  classifications 
excite  tends  to  put  him  upon  his  guard.  This  is  why 
adults  are  slower  than  children  to  refer  new  experiences 
to  the  old  familiar  classes.  To  promote  such  hesitation 
— that  is,  somewhat  to  check  the  apperceiving  process — 
is  a  great  matter  in  education. 

Still  when  all  has  been  done  that  is  possible,  this  door- 
way through  which  so  many  errors  enter  a  man's  mind  can 
never  be  closed.  His  mind  may  be  virgin  at  first,  but 
it  soon  loses  its  virginity.  His  ideas,  opinions,  and  feelings 
are  lenses  through  which  he  sees  ever3'thing  about  him. 
He  may  accept  theoretically  the  warning  of  the  moralist 
to  judge  his  fellowmen  as  they  are,  and  of  the  preacher 
to  read  the  Bible  as  it  is;  but  practically  he  looks  at  men 
and  Bible  alike  through  his  mental  and  moral  attainments; 
that  is,  through  the  sum-total  of  his  culture.  He  sees 
through  a  glass  darkly,  not  face  to  face.  What  we 
call  bias  and  prejudice  are  not  always,  or  perhaps  com- 
monly, a  state  of  the  feelings  merely,  and  they  are 
not  directly  subject  to  the  will.  Struggle  as  he  may,  a 
man  cannot  get  away  from  himself.  In  respect  to  opinion 
and  faith,  he  can  no  more  throw  off  his  former  mental 
habits  suddenly  than  he  can  cast  out  his  bodily  humors. 
All  that  he  can  do  is  to  turn  new  facets  of  his  mind  to  the 
subject,  to  view  it  under  new  aspects,  to  search  forbidden 
points  of  contact,  to  discover  grounds  of  agreement  that 
at  first  are  not  apparent.  And  this,  no  doubt,  is  a  great 
deal.     Here  appears  the  advantage  that  the  man  of  wide 


MORAL  AND  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING  OF  CHILDREN.    229 

knowledge,  full  experience,  and  sympathetic  spirit  has 
over  the  man  who  is  without  these  qualities;  he  is  more 
cautious  in  making  up  his  mind,  and  is  more  likely  to 
discover  truth,  beauty,  and  goodness.  The  old  conception 
of  a  liberal  education  was,  that  through  it  isolation  of  the 
spirit  is  broken  down  and  mental  freedom  established. 
Such  education  is  called  liberal,  perhaps  because  it  frees 
or  tends  to  free  the  mind  from  its  own  ignorance  and 
narrowness.  Something,  of  course,  depends  upon  the 
original  or  positive  character  of  the  individual.  vSome 
minds  are  more  responsive  to  environment  than  others; 
some  have  more  and  some  less  power  to  protect  them- 
selves against  the  errors  and  mistakes  that  root  in  the 
personality. 

Still  a  fourth  conclusion  is  that  teaching  may  be  too 
thorough,  that  instruction  may  be  overdone.  Remember 
that  we  are  dealing  now  with  the  young  mind,  which 
should  not  be  cribbed  and  confined  in  a  narrow  cell 
of  habits,  but  should  acquire  range  as  well  as  intensit>- 
of  view.  Than  this,  no  stronger  argument  for  wise 
teaching  can  be  brought  forward.  Subject  to  inheritance, 
the  teacher  holds  the  child'smind  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand. 
The  physiological  psychologists  have  their  peculiar  expla- 
nation of  the  main  fact  that  has  been  set  forth.  That  in- 
tensified form  of  mental  activity  which  we  call  appercep- 
tion is  the  result,  they  tell  us,  of  the  energizing  and  cor- 
relation of  the  nerves  or  the  brain-tracts,  and  this  is  prob- 
ably enough.  But  no  matter  what  the  explanation  may 
be,  the  plain  fact,  while  it  has  its  unpleasant  aspect,  is 
still  the  pledge  of  all  force  and  persistence  in  human  char- 
acter. 

Once  more,  the  moral  or  religious  teacher  will  find  in 
apperception  the  key  to  many  perplexing  questions.  In 
grace,  as  in  nature,  the  mind  cannot  respond  to  what  it 


230  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

does  not  in  kind  alread}'  have.  God  made  his  first  reve- 
lation to  man  when  He  ga\-e  him  his  mental  and  ethical 
being;  that  is,  created  man  in  His  own  image;  and  the 
highest  test  of  the  value  of  the  Scriptures  is  the  fact  that 
they  touch  this  primal  revelation  at  so  man}-  points.  The 
very  assumption  that  God  revealed  Himself,  or  that  He 
could  reveal  Himself,  to  a  being  in  whom  He  did  not  al- 
ready implicitly  exist,  is  a  great  absurdit}'.  A  nervedoes 
not  respond  to  light  or  sound  unless  it  is  sensitive  to  it  by 
nature.  Beautiful  pictures  do  not  appeal  to  the  man  who 
has  no  eyes,  or  fine  music  to  him  who  has  no  experience 
of  sweet  sounds;  and  no  more  do  spiritual  lessons  awaken 
a  response  in  the  soul  of  him  who  has  no  piety  in  his  heart 
or  purity  in  his  life.     Wordsworth  wrote: 

Imagination  needs  must  stir     .     .     . 
Minds  that  have  nothin.£^  to  confer 
Find  little  to  perceive. 

And  Coleridge: 

Dear  lady,  we  receive  but  what  we  give, 
And  in  our  life  alone  does  nature  live. 

It  should  not  be  thought  strange  therefore  that  opinion 
and  faith,  especially  when  we  take  large  numbers  of  men 
together,  change  but  slowly.  The  truth  is  that  the  so- 
called  great  and  rapid  changes  are  alwa}-s  preceded  by 
some  sort  of  a  preparation.  Historians  are  constantly  re- 
marking the  influence  of  old  systems  of  thought  upon 
new  ones.  How  persistently  the  twelve  Apostles  read 
Jesus  through  their  Jewish  ideas  and  feelings!  How 
slowly  did  they  grope  their  way  out  of  themselves!  The 
differences  of  Jewish,  Greek,  and  Latin  Christianity, 
which  are  .so  observable,  originated  in  the  Levitical  ideas 
of  the  Jewi.sh  mind,  the  philo.sophical  ideas  of  the  Greek 
mind,  and  the  juridical  ideas  of  the   Roman  mind. 


MORAL  AND  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING  OF  CHILDREN,     23 1 

But  it  is  time  to  draw  nearer  to  our  special  subject, 
although  in  fact  we  have  not  been  far  from  it  at  any 
time.  A  man's  religion  largely  determines  his  relations 
to  this  life,  and  it  wholly  determines  his  relations  to  the 
life  that  is  to  come.  It  gives  him  his  ethical  ideal  and 
supplies  him  motives.  Carlyle  once  said  that  a  man's 
religion  is  the  chief  fact  with  regard  to  him.  Hence  the 
question  of  religious  training  is  one  of  supreme  interest 
and  importance. 

All  that  has  been  said  of  the  secular  mind  is  equally 
true  in  principle  of  the  spiritual  mind.  It  may  well 
be  true  that  material  things  have  no  original  power  to 
generate  spiritual  ideas  and  feelings,  but  that  such  ideas 
and  feelings  must  proceed  from  spiritual  things.  It  may 
well  be  that,  as  natural  knowledge  originates  in  the  con- 
tact of  the  mind  with  natural  realities,  so  spiritual  knowl- 
edge originates  in  its  contact  with  moral  and  religious 
realities.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  considerable  refine- 
ment and  subtlety  of  thought  is  required  to  find 

Tongues  in  trees,  books  in  running  brooks, 
Sermons  in  stones,  and  good  in  everything; 

or  to  feel  that 

The  meanest  flower  that  blows,  can  give 
Thoughts  that  do  often  lie  too  deep  for  tears. 

Still  spiritual  knowledge  and  feeling  have  a  humble  pater- 
nity. We  may  say  that  religion  moves  at  different  times 
in  three  spheres. 

The  first  is  the  nature -sphere.  The  feelings  of  won- 
der, mystery,  awe,  sublimity,  solemnity,  and  grandeur 
that  spring  from  communion  with  nature  are  the  raw  ma- 
terial out  of  which  the  religious  feelings  that  bear  the 
same  names  are  formed.  The  abundant  use  that  the  Tes- 
taments make  of  natural  objects  and  scenes  to  create  spir- 


232  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

itual  thought  and  feehng,  is  most  significant.  ' '  Howbeit, 
that  was  not  first  which  is  spiritual,  but  that  which  is 
natural;  and  afterward  that  which  is  spiritual."  The 
second  sphere  is  that  of  man  and  society.  It  is  in  per- 
sonal contact  with  his  nurses,  parents,  brothers  and  sis- 
ters, and  mates,  that  the  child's  first  conceptions  of 
obedience,  law,  rule,  authority,  justice,  truth,  reverence, 
sympath}^  piety,  mercy,  purity,  spring  up,  and  that  the 
fountains  of  moral  feeling  are  unsealed.  Moreover,  it  is 
in  similar  commerce  with  men  and  women  of  the  world 
that  these  conceptions  are  developed  and  the  channels  of 
these  feelings  deepened.  The  last  sphere  is  the  God- 
sphere.  The  moral  ideas  and  feelings  are  common  to 
both  ethics  and  religion;  while  they  do  not  always  cul- 
minate in  a  large  religious  development,  they  are  never- 
theless essential  to  the  religious  ideas  and  feelings. 
vStrengthened,  clarified,  and  adjusted  to  God  as  a  center, 
they  constitute  religion.  It  will  throw  light  upon  the 
growth  of  religious  ideas  to  sketch  the  growth  of  moral 
and  civic  ideas  more  fully. 

As  remarked,  it  is  in  the  family,  in  personal  contact 
with  its  members,  that  the  child  forms  the  habits  of  obe- 
dience and  deference  to  others.  It  is  here  that  he  learns, 
in  a  rudimentary  and  experimental  way,  that  he  is  a  part 
of  a  social  whole.  Here  he  acquires  the  ideas  to  which 
we  give  the  names  obedience,  azdhority,  government,  and 
the  like.  His  father  (if  we  may  unify  the  family  govern- 
ment) is  his  first  ruler,  and  his  father's  word  his  first  law. 
Legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  functions  are  centered 
in  a  single  person.  These  early  habits  and  ideas  are  the 
foundations  of  the  child's  whole  future  education  in  gov- 
ernment, both  practical  and  theoretical.  His  future  con- 
ception of  the  governor,  president,  king,  or  emperor  is 
developed  on  the  basis    of  the  idea  of  father;  his  con- 


MORAL  AND  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING  OF  CHILDREN. 


233 


ception  of  society  on  the  basis  of  the  idea  of  home;  his 
conception  of  government  by  the  state  on  the  basis  of  fam- 
ily government.  Only  these  early  habits  and  ideas  are 
expanded,  strengthened,  and  adjusted  to  new  centers. 

While  still  young  the  child  goes  to  school.  On  the 
governmental  side  this  is  but  a  repetition  of  the  home. 
It  is  the  doctrine  of  the  law  that  the  teacher  takes  the 
place  of  the  parent;  in  loco  parentis.  The  new  jurisdic- 
tion may  be  narrower  than  the  old  one,  but  it  is  of  the 
same  kind.  The  education  of  the  school  re-enforces  the 
education  of  the  home  in  respect  to  this  all-important 
.subject.  The  habits  of  obedience  and  deference  are 
strengthened.  The  child's  social  world  is  enlarged.  At 
first  he  thought,  or  rather  felt,  that  he  was  alone  in  the 
world;  then  he  learned  that  he  must  adjust  himself  to  the 
family  circle;  now  he  discovers  that  he  is  a  member  of  a 
still  larger  community,  and  that  he  must  conduct  himself 
accordingly.  The  ideas  of  authority,  obedience,  and  law 
are  expanded  and  clarified. 

About  the  time  that  the  child  goes  to  .school  he  begins 
to  take  practical  lessons  in  civil  government.  This  also  is 
developed  on  the  basis  of  his  previous  home-training.  It 
begins  at  the  very  door-step.  The  letter-carrier,  the 
poHceman,  the  justice  of  the  peace,  and  the  postmaster 
introduce  him  to  the  government  of  the  outer  world.  Some 
or  all  of  these  officers  he  sees  or  knows,  and  others  he 
hears  about.  The  very  mail  wagon  that  rattles  along  the 
street  teaches  its  lesson,  and  so  do  the  other  symbols  ot 
authority  that  confront  him.  He  attends  an  election  and 
hears  about  the  caucus.  As  he  grows  older,  the  town 
council,  the  court  of  the  local  magistrate,  and  the  consta- 
ble or  sheriff  teach  him  the  meaning  of  the  three  great 
branches  of  government.  His  ears  as  well  as  his  eyes  are 
open.    Politics  is  the  theme  of  much  familiar  conversation 


234  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

to  which  he  listens.  With  all  the  rest,  he  reads  the 
newspaper,  and  so  enlarges  his  store  of  political  informa- 
tion. 

Still  other  agencies  contribute  to  the  grand  result.  The 
church,  public  meetings,  societies  of  various  kinds,  all 
teach  lessons  of  order  and  discipline. 

Such,  in  general,  are  the  steps  by  which  the  child 
makes  his  wa)^  out  of  the  world  of  isolation  and  selfish- 
ness into  the  world  of  social  activity  and  light.  Such  is 
the  character  of  his  early  education  in  morals  and  prac- 
tical civics.  Nor  is  it  easy  to  overestimate  these  earl}- 
lessons.  To  suppose  that  the  child's  political  education 
begins  with  reading  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
is  like  supposing  that  his  moral  education  begins  when 
he  is  first  able  to  follow  the  preacher's  sermon. 

At  first,  man  is  thoroughly  individual  and  egoistical : 
The  human  baby  is  as  selfish  as  the  cub  of  the  bear  or 
fox.  He  is  the  most  exacting  tyrant  in  the  world.  No 
matter  at  what  cost,  his  wants  must  be  supplied.  Such 
is  his  primary  nature.  But  this  selfish  creature  is  endowed 
with  a  higher,  an  ideal  nature.  At  fir.st  he  knows  only 
rights,  and  these  he  greatly  magnifies;  but,  progressively, 
he  learns,  what  no  mere  animal  can  learn,  to  curb  his 
appetites,  desires,  and  feelings,  and  to  regard  the  rights, 
interests,  and  feelings  of  others.  In  other  words, 
the  human  being  is  capable  of  learning  his  relations 
to  the  great  social  body  of  which  he  is  a  member. 
Mere  individualism,  mere  egoism,  is  compelled  to  rec- 
ognize the  force  and  value  of  altruistic  conviction 
and  sentiment.  And  this  lesson,  save  alone  his  relations 
to  the  Supreme  Being,  is  the  greatest  lesson  that  man 
ever  learns.  Moreover,  the  two  lessons  are  closely  con- 
nected. 


MORAL  AND  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING  OF  CHILDREN.     235 

Filial  piety  in  the  home  is  a  preparation  for  piety 
toward  God.  Fraternal  love  in  the  famil}^  comes  before 
fraternal  love  in  the  church  and  in  the  world.  The  super- 
natural is  builded  upon  the  natural,  the  Divine  upon  the 
human.  "Whoso  hath  this  world's  goods,  and  seeth  his 
brother  have  need,  and  shutteth  up  his  bowels  of  com- 
passion from  him,  how  dwelleth  the  love  of  God  in  him?" 
"  If  a  man  say,  I  love  God,  and  hateth  his  brother,  he  is 
a  liar;  for  he  that  loveth  not  his  brother  whom  he  hath 
seen,  how  can  he  love  God  whom  he  hath  not  seen?" 
And  so  with  the  other  spiritual  qualities.  How  can  a 
man  who  despises  or  contemns  his  father  reverence  God 
and  obey  Him  ?  The  method  of  religion  is  from  the 
seen  to  the  unseen,  from  the  known  to  the  unknown. 
But  that  is  not  all.  It  is  no  impiety  to  say  that  a 
man's  first  God  is  his  father,  his  first  heaven  his  home; 
and  if  that  father  has  been  impure  or  cruel,  or  that  home 
unhappy,  the  phrases  "Father  in  heaven"  and  "the 
Father's  house  "  lose  much  of  their  meaning  and  beauty. 
The  fact  is  that  we  are  quite  incapable  of  estimating  how 
far  our  religious  ideas,  feelings,  and  character  have  been 
shaped  by  the  character  of  the  homes  in  which  we  were 
reared.  In  so  saying,  formal  religious  instruction  is  left 
altogether  out  of  the  account.  Indeed,  we  tend  to  ex- 
aggerate the  value  of  such  instruction  as  compared  with 
the  stream  of  unconscious  influence  that  constantly  flows 
into  the  life. 

Rousseau  urged  that,  previous  to  his  sixteenth  year, 
the  child  should  receive  no  formal  rehgious  instruction 
whatever.  He  gave  as  a  reason  that  before  such  time 
the  child  would  misconceive  and  distort  all  religious  ideas 
that  were  presented  to  him.  "  Let  us  refrain,"  he  says. 
' '  from  announcing  the  truth  to  those  who  are  not  in  a 
condition  to  understand  it,  for  this  is  equivalent  to  sub- 


236  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

stituting  error  for  it.  It  would  be  much  better  to  have 
no  idea  of  the  Divinity,  than  to  have  ideas  which  are  low, 
fanciful,  wrongful,  or  unworthy  of  Him.  Not  to  know 
the  Divinity  is  a  lesser  evil  than  to  have  unworthy  con- 
ceptions of  Him."^  Now  it  is  impossible  to  deny  that 
the  young  child  is  as  superstitious  as  a  savage,  or  that  he 
is  a  natural  idolater.  But  there  are  two  objections  to 
Rousseau' s  reasoning.  The  first  is  that  you  cannot  keep  the 
child  away  from  religion  if  you  would.  His  imagination, 
working  on  the  mysteries  about  him,  will  create  its  own 
Olympus  or  Asgard.  Still  further,  no  matter  how  long 
religious  teaching  may  be  deferred,  error  and  distortion 
of  views  cannot  be  avoided.  Every  man  is  for  a  time  a 
devotee  of  superstition;  he  may  pass  out  of  it  into  a 
rational  religion,  he  may  fall  into  mere  negation  or  no- 
religion,  or  he  may  remain  superstitious,  as  most  men  do 
in  some  degree,  to  the  end  of  his  life.  Accordingly,  the 
ideal  is  not  a  denial  of  religious  instruction,  but  such 
instruction  wisely  administered.  We  must  remember  the 
principle  laid  down  by  the  Apo.stle  :  ' '  When  I  was  a 
child,  I  spake  as  a  child,  I  understood  as  a  child,  I 
thought  as  a  child;  but  when  I  became  a  man,  I  put 
away  childish  things. ' ' 

Still  Rousseau's  counsel  cannot  be  wholly  thrown  aside. 
There  is  a  valuable  truth  in  the  doctrine  of  negative 
instruction,  and  it  is  a  pity  that  he  so  exaggerated  it. 
Let  the  child's  mind  work  freely  upon  his  moral  environ- 
ment, only  take  pains  to  shield  him  in  his  weakness 
against  the  false,  hateful,  and  vile.  Religious  ideas  and 
feelings  should  be  left  to  develop  naturally  and  should 
not  be  forced.  Remember  the  silent  influences  of  the 
home,  which  fall  into  the  young  soul  with  power  more 
penetrating,  more  persuasive,  more  lasting,  than  Italian 
~~  *  Emile,  p.  230.     Translated  by  W.  II.  Payne. 


MORAL  AND  RELIGIOUS  TKAIXING  OF  CHILUKEN.     237 

suns  or  Scandinavian  snows.  Unhappy  the  child  who 
learns  at  home  to  read  the  world  through  clouds  of  sorrow, 
mists  of  prejudice,  or  flashes  of  passion  !  Happy  the  child 
wdio  learns  to  read  it  through  the  clear  sunshine  of 
wisdom,  truth,  and  goodness  ! 

What  has  been  said  of  the  home  in  respect  to  uncon- 
scious influence,  applies  in  a  measure  to  the  school  and 
the  church.  If  they  are  what  they  ought  to  be,  their 
indirect  influence  and  effect  will  be  great.  The  formal 
or  external  observances  of  religion  play  their  part.  Prayer, 
music,  and  the  ordinances  are  clothed  with  spiritual  sen- 
timents by  children  too  young  to  understand  their  deeper 
import;  and  the  influence  of  symbols  over  immature 
minds  is  such  that  these  observances  are  sometimes  the 
last  fastness  of  expiring  religious  faith  and  feeling.  Again, 
the  relation  of  the  ethical  and  esthetical  elements  of  wor- 
ship, public  or  private,  should  not  be  disregarded. 

But  negative  instruction  will  not  sufiice;  there  must  be 
positive  teaching.  At  this  point  two  or  three  words  of 
admonition  should  be  spoken. 

The  first  of  these  words  is  that  formal  spiritual  teaching 
should  not  be  unduly  hastened.  The  reasons  for  this 
admonition  have  been  once  given,  and  need  not  be  re- 
peated. It  is  far  more  important  to  look  after  the  child's 
conduct,  and  to  adjust  his  environment  as  maybe  needed, 
than  it  is  to  teach  him  didactic  les.sons. 

The  second  word  is  that  the  lessons,  when  they  come, 
should  be  wisely  chosen.  Let  them  be  such  as  will  fortify 
and  strengthen  the  child  for  the  work  of  life.  The  parent 
or  teacher  should  be  upon  his  guard  against  dogma.  First, 
it  is  to  be  considered  that  the  ethical  value  of  dogma  is 
small.  Dogma  appeals  to  the  logical  faculty,  not  to  the 
heart;    it    coalesces  with    the    scientific,    not   with    the 


238  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION". 

practical  elements  of  the  mind,  and  therefore  fails  to 
touch  the  springs  of  moral  life  and  action.  Simple  is  the 
intellectual  apparatus  directh'  correlated  with  virtue. 
Few  are  the  doctrines  immediately  productive  of  good  con- 
duct. Remote  indeed  from  life  are  many  of  the  deliver- 
ances of  the  pulpit.  But,  more  than  this,  dogma  is  often 
extremely  harmful.  Sometimes  it  is  at  variance  with  the 
facts  of  moral  experience;  sometimes  it  is  a  screen  for  a 
bad  life;  and  often  it  becomes  a  burden. 

Thinking  m.en  feel  the  need  of  some  scheme  of  religious 
truth,  but  3'oung  children  have  no  such  need,  and  are 
rather  harmed  by  such  a  scheme.  A  system  of  theological 
doctrines  may  be  so  welded  upon  the  mind  by  teachers — 
apperception  may  do  its  work  so  thoroughly — that  the 
child,  when  he  becomes  a  man,  can  no  more  throw  it  off 
than  a  tortoise  can  cast  away  its  shell.  Besides,  in  cases 
where  the  system,  less  thoroughly  riveted,  is  broken  to 
pieces  and  thrown  away,  it  is  often  at  the  cost  of  spiritual 
dislocations  that  cause  great  unhappiness  and  that  some- 
times end  in  complete  religious  wreck.  Happy  the  Man 
of  the  Iron  Mask  in  comparison  with  him  who  is  spir- 
itually shackled  by  a  dogmatic  system  !  The  cries  of  re- 
ligious despair,  the  wails  of  those  who  conceive  them- 
selves to  be  lost,  the  blindness  of  imprisoned  spirits, 
resulting  from  dogmatic  teaching — these  things  should 
convince  us  that  great  wisdom  is  needed  in  conducting 
the  religious  training  of  children.  It  is  by  no  means  clear 
that  the  Canaanites  who  passed  their  children  through  the 
fire  to  Moloch,were  more  cruel  than  Christian  parents  who 
immolate  their  tender  offspring  upon  the  altar  of  a  hard 
and  hopeless  theology.  If  there  is  any  one  thing  that 
would  cau.se  Him  who  put  His  hands  upon  the  little 
children  and  blessed  them,  to  seize  again  the  knotted 
scourge  with  which   He  drove  the  money-changers  from 


MORAL  AND  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING  OF  CHILDREN.     239 

the  Temple,  it  must  be  the  sight  of  Christian  parents  and 
teachers  binding  the  souls  of  helpless  infants  and  youth 
with  the  thongs  of  dogma,  or  pouring  into  them  the 
poison  of  sectarian  bigotry,  envy,  and  hatred. 

It  may  be  thought  that  this  last  admonition  relates  to 
a  state  of  things  that  has  passed  away.  Happily  this  is 
true  in  part.  Still,  that  state  of  things  is  far  from  ob.solete, 
and  the  admonition  is  neither  outgrown  nor  likely  to  be 
outgrown.  In  particular  should  parents  and  teachers  be 
careful  how  they  teach  religion  to  children  of  sensi- 
tive temperament  and  active  imagination. 

I  have  remarked  already  that  the  intellectual  apparatus 
which  directly  affects  the  spiritual  life  is  simple.  No  doubt 
many  facts  and  ideas  affect  it  indirectly,  and  in  the  long 
run;  but  the  religious  lessons  that  need  to  be  taught  to 
children,  and  especially  to  j-oung  children,  are  few  in 
number.  The  wisdom,  purity,  and  goodness  of  God;  the 
love  of  Jesus,  the  capacity  of  men  for  growth  and  happi- 
ness, and  the  duty  to  seek  those  ends;  wisdom,  purity, 
forebearance,  justice,  magnanimity,  truth,  and  goodness; 
men  reap  what  the}'  sow — these  ideas  lie  at  the  basis  of 
the  moral  life.  The  great  care  of  the  parent  or  the  teacher 
should  be  to  commit  the  child  to  virtue  and  piety,  and  to 
leave  theolog}-  to  the  future  man  or  woman. 

The  creation  of  right  habits,  the  proper  development 
and  regulation  of  the  appetites,  desires,  and  feelings,  and 
the  implantation  of  sound  principles  are  all  embraced  in 
ethical  cultivation;  they  are  inteitwined  and  mutually  de- 
pendent; still,  there  is  a  constant  tendency  to  exaggerate 
the  value  of  the  didactic  element.  It  is  far  from  true  that 
habits,  feelings,  and  ideas  are  always  measures  one  of 
another.  A  severe  character  does  not  always  go  with  a 
severe  creed,  and  a  liberal  spirit  is  not  always  associated 
with  liberal  opinions. 


240  STUDIES    IN'    EDUCATION, 

Material  for  spiritual  instruction  adapted  to  the  needs 
of  the  child  exists  in  greatest  abundance.  The  Bible  does 
not  contain  it  all,  but  it  contains  the  cream.  Still,  it 
should  not  be  taught  to  children  indiscriminately.  The 
Bible  is  pre-eminently  a  book  to  be  used  with  judgment. 
The  interest  of  much  of  it  is  historical,  not  unlike  the 
interest  that  attaches  to  the  laws  of  the  Ten  Tables. 
There  are  whole  chapters  which  are  as  lacking  in  spiritual 
content  as  Homer's  list  of  the  Grecian  ships  and  heroes 
that  went  to  the  siege  of  Troy.  Portions  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment certainly  suggest,  if  they  do  not  inculcate,  a  moralit\- 
that  is  outgrown,  while  other  portions  move  in  an  environ- 
ment so  unlike  modern  life  that  they  do  not  interest 
untaught  minds.  While  the  New  Testament  is  in  gen- 
eral superior  to  the  Old,  still  it  is  not  throughout  of  equal 
spiritual  value.  Highest  on  the  roll  of  books  stand  the 
incomparable  Gospels.  Jesus  is  a  better  teacher  of  chil- 
dren than  Paul.  The  story  of  Jesus  and  His  great 
utterances,  as  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  and  the  parables 
of  the  Prodigal  Son,  the  Good  Samaritan,  the  Talents,  and 
the  Sower,  should  be  fixed  in  every  mind.  The  story  of 
the  Apostles  and  their  sermons  are  to  be  preferred  to 
their  Epistles.  And  yet  the  Epistles  contain  matter  ad- 
mirably suited  to  our  purpose.  Paul's  Song  of  Eove  and 
his  Ode  on  Immortality,  found  in  First  Corinthians,  are  far 
better  fitted  to  form  the  character  than  the  theological 
discussions  of  Romans  and  Galatians.  While  inferior  to 
the  New,  the  Old  Testament  is  still  rich  in  .spiritual 
teaching.  Some  of  the  tales,  as  that  of  Joseph,  sermons 
of  the  prophets,  pa.ssages  of  Job,  parts  of  the  Hebrew 
Wisdom,  and  many  of  the  Psalms,  are  unsurpa.s.sed,  if  not 
indeed  unequaled,  as  means  for  creating  noble  ideas  and 
developing  noble  feeling.  Still  more,  the  educative  value 
of  the  vScriptures  is  much  increased  by  the  noble  language 


MORAL  AND  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING  OF  CHILDREN.     24 1 

in  which  the  thoughts  are  clotlied.  And  this  fact  sug- 
gests again  the  close  connection  between  esthetical  and 
spiritual  impressions. 

Two  or  three  prudential  remarks  will  fitly  close  this 
address. 

No  attempt  should  be  made  fully  to  satisfy  the  curiosity 
of  children  about  spiritual  things.  The  mysteries  about 
them  constantly  .suggest  questions  that  must  be  deferred 
until  a  later  period.  Moreover,  to  decide  what  ([uestions 
should  be  answered,  and  what  pas.sed  by,  calls  for  no  little 
insight  and  common  sense. 

Then  it  is  a  great  mistake  constantly  to  crowd  the 
lesson  or  the  moral  of  what  is  taught  into  the  foreground. 
Even  the  Sunday-school  is  no  place  for  what  children 
sometimes  contemptuously  call  "preaching."  Religious 
exercises  should  be  ordered  and  conducted  with  reference 
to  spiritual  ends,  but  these  ends  .should  not  be  made 
obtrusive.  L,et  the  exercise  carry  the  lesson  or  the  moral. 
If  the  contrary  cour.se  be  taken,  one  of  two  things  is 
likel}^  to  happen:  either  the  child  will  fall  into  insincerit>' 
and  cant,  or  he  will  assume  a  position  of  antagonism  to 
all  formal  spiritual  influence.  The  normal  child,  as  well  as 
the  normal  adult,  rebels  when  it  comes  to  thrusting  a 
.spiritual  habit  upon  him.  He  fortifies  himself  again.st 
what  he* deems  unwarrantable  intrusions  into  the  sanctuary 
of  his  mind.  Or,  as  an  able  writer  remarks:  "The  child 
protects  its  inner  individuality  against  effacement  through 
external  authority,  by  taking  an  attitude  of  rebellion 
against  .stories  with  an  appended  moral." 

But  much  more  than  this  should  be  said.  Some  people 
are  always  ready  to  take  account  of  spiritual  stock,  so  to 
speak,  and  to  hand  3'ou  an  inventory  of  their  conceptions, 
feelings,  and  experiences.     They  take  a  morbid  pleasure 


242  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

in  such  ethical  bookkeeping  and  advertising.  But  this  is 
not  the  worst  of  it;  such  persons  are  wont  to  assume  that 
others  should  be  like  themselves,  and  they  accordingly 
conclude  that  reticence  on  topics  of  personal  religion 
argues  gross  spiritual  defect.  Such  habits  betray  a  vulgar 
mind.  Such  persons  are  wanting  in  self-respect  and 
delicacy  of  feeling.  Children  will  sometimes  invite  re- 
ligious conversation;  a  certain  spiritual  openness  or  frank- 
ness may  be  encouraged,  for  there  is  such  a  thing  as  an 
undue  concealment  of  the  feelings;  but  it  is  important  to 
remember  that  high-minded  men  and  women  maintain  a 
certain  reserve  in  respect  to  their  feelings,  and  also  regard 
the  privacy  of  others.  Still  more,  continually  to  peer  into 
the  child's  mind  to  .see  what  growth  the  seed  is  making, 
shows  lack  of  faith  in  the  seed  itself.  It  has  been  likened 
to  pulling  up  the  bean-stalks  in  the  garden  to  see  how 
they  are  .sj^routing.  "In  the  morning  .sow  thy  seed,  and 
in  the  evening  withhold  not  thine  hand;  for  thou  knowest 
not  whether  shall  prosper,  either  this  or  that,  or  whether 
they  both  .shall  be  alike  good. ' '  It  cannot  be  doubted  that 
many,  if  not  mo.st,  .so-called  "serious"  conversations  with 
children  are  harmful. 

Finally,  do  not  fall  into  the  heresy  that  children  sliould 
be  taught  nothing  that  is  beyond  their  comprehension. 
Understanding  is  a  thing  of  degrees.  No  doubt  too  little 
pains  was  formerly  taken  to  adapt  instruction  to  children; 
but  that  is  no  reason  for  fl>'ing  to  the  opposite  extreme, 
and  measuring  out  every  idea  and  every  word  according 
to  the  child's  present  capacity.  The  oft -repeated  warning 
to  tell  children  nothing  that  they  do  not  understand,  is 
more  harmful  when  applied  to  spiritual  than  to  .secular 
things.  At  its  core  religion  is  emotion,  not  intelligence; 
its  method  is  intuition  or  faith,  not  demonstration;  and  if 
such  emotions  as  veneration,  reverence,  and  piety  are  not 


MORAL  AND  RELIGIOUS  TRAINING  OF  CHILDREN.     243 

to  be  cultivated  until  their  nature  and  the  causes  that 
produce  them  are  understood,  then  they  will  never  be 
cultivated  at  all.  There  is  much  in  religion  that  transcends 
the  farthest  reach  of  thought.  Most  fortunately,  how- 
ever, influences  and  experiences  that  are  helpful  to  the 
soul  are  not  limited  by  the  scientific  understanding. 
From  the  sky,  the  mountain,  and  the  sea;  from  the  social 
world,  history,  and  literature;  from  the  church,  the  Bible, 
and  the  Divine  Spirit  itself — spiritual  influences  will  flow 
into  souls  little  capable  of  understanding  them,  if  only  the 
opportunity  be  given.  The  great  passages  of  the  Bible 
may  be  read  and  committed  to  memory  years  before  they 
can  be  logically  analyzed.  A  glimpse  of  the  Divine 
majesty,  a  view  of  the  future  glory,  a  touch  of  the 
celestial  fire,  will  come  to  the  heart  and  life  of  a  little 
child  from  a  lesson  that  he  will  never  fully  comprehend. 


XII. 

PAYMENT   BY   RESULTS/ 

HE  suggestion  that  the  principle  of  "pay- 
ment by  results"  should  be  adopted  as  the 
best  method  of  solving  the  question  of  reli- 
gious instruction  in  the  public  schools  of  the 
United  States,  makes  timely  a  discussion  of  that  feature 
of  the  English  system  of  public  education.^  A  brief 
account  of  its  development  is  essential. 

Previous  to  1832  the  English  government  had  never 
done  anything  for  the  education  of  the  people.  Not  one 
penny  had  ever  been  voted  by  Parliament,  or  by  any 
local  public  authority,  to  pay  a  school-teacher  or  to  build 
a  schoolhouse.  The  existing  means  of  education  were 
the  few  hundred  endowed  grammar  schools  scattered  over 
the  country;  the  parish  or  charity  schools,  which  were 
the  peculiar  educational  product  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury; the  schools  founded  after  1808  and  1811,  respect- 
ively, by  the  two  educational  societies,  the  British  and 
Foreign  School  Society  and  the  National  Society;  and 
the  Sunday  schools,  which  still  followed  the  example  set 
by  Raikes,  at  Gloucester,  of  teaching  the  simplest  ele- 
ments of  learning  as  well  as  religion.  For  the  most 
part,  tuition  in  the  grammar  schools  was  gratuitous;  still 

*  77/1?  Educational  Review,  September,  1892. 

2  An  address  by  Archbishop  Ireland  delivered  before  the  Na- 
tional Educational  Association  at  St.  Paul,  July,  1890.  See  the 
Proceedings  of  the  Association  for  that  year,  p.  179. 

244 


PAYMENT    BY    RESULTS. 


245 


the  expense  of  attendance  excluded  the  lower  classes. 
They  were  strictly  middle-class  schools,  as  they  are  to-day. 
Moreover,  the  majority  of  these  schools  had  fallen  into 
decay,  some  because  the  tide  of  population  had  turned 
away  from  them,  and  some  because  they  had  been  badly 
managed.  Instruction  in  the  charit}^  schools,  which  was 
commonly  poor,  was  not  only  free,  but  clothing  was  often 
provided  for  the  children  as  well.  But  these  schools  were 
altogether  insufficient  in  number  and  in  equipment.  Both 
the  grammar  schools  and  the  charit}'^  schools  were  mainly 
under  the  control  and  management  of  the  Established 
Church.  The  British  and  Foreign  Society  aimed,  in  its 
schools,  to  teach  secular  studies  and  the  Bible;  the 
National  Society,  to  teach  the  doctrines  of  the  Established 
Church  and  secular  studies.  There  was  absolutely 
nothing  answering  to  public  schools  as  that  expression  is 
now  understood  in  most  of  the  well-educated  countries  of 
the  world. 

No  one  who  understands  the  magnitude  of  national 
education  need  be  told  that  this  was  a  miserable  educa- 
tional provision  for  such  a  country  as  England.  Of  the 
whole  population,  only  1  in  11.25  was  at  school;  whereas 
in  Prussia  the  ratio  was  1  in  6.27;  in  Holland,  1  in  8.11; 
and  in  France,  1  in  9. 

In  1832  the  government  took  its  first  step  toward 
promoting  popular  education.  Parhament  voted  €20,- 
000  to  supplement  local  enterprise  in  building  school- 
houses.  It  was  a  small  beginning;  but  Parliament 
repeated  the  grant  for  several  years,  and  then  it  began  to 
increase  the  sum  voted.  About  the  same  time  that  the 
increase  began.  Parliament  included  normal  schools  and 
teachers'  salaries  in  the  grants.  To  trace  minutely  the 
successive  steps  that  led  up  to  the  present  system  of  ele- 
mentary schools  is  here  impossible  and  unnecessary,  but 


246  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

a  summary  of  four  or  five  points  will  assist  in  under- 
standing the  present  status. 

When  a  good  beginning  had  once  been  made,  the  gov- 
ernment rapidly  expanded  its  operations.  The  grants 
voted  for  schools  at  intervals  of  five  years  will  make  this 
plain:  1835,  £20,000;  1840,  £30,000;  1845,  £75,000; 
1850,  £125,000;  1855,  £397,000;  1860,  £798,000;  1865, 
£637,000;  1869,  £415,000. 

At  first  the  grants  voted  by  Parliament  were  appor- 
tioned by  the  lords  of  the  treasury  on  the  recommenda- 
tion of  the  two  educational  societies.  But  in  time  there 
began  to  develop,  in  the  characteristic  English  manner,  a 
department  of  education.  In  1839  the  Privy  Council 
passed  an  order  constituting  four  persons  named  ' '  a 
committee  to  superintend  the  application  of  any  sums 
voted  by  Parliament  for  the  purpose  of  promoting 
public  education."  The  committee  that  had  at  first 
to  administer  but  £30,000  a  year,  gradually  grew  into 
a  great  department  of  State,  dealing  with  an  annual 
grant  from  the  exchequer  of  nearly  £2,000,000,  and 
exercising  a  very  wide  and  important  discretion.  Finally, 
Parliament  passed  an  act  creating  a  vice-president  of  the 
council,  and  making  him  the  head  of  the  committee 
on  education;  but  with  this  exception,  the  whole  mechan- 
ism of  administration  stood  simply  upon  usage.  The 
secretary  of  this  committee,  however,  was  and  is  its  real 
head. 

The  department  established  an  inspectorship.  At  first 
this  extended  only  to  the  buildings  that  the  government 
helped  to  build;  but  when  grants  came  to  be  made  for 
.schools  also,  the  inspection  was  extended  to  the  secular 
teaching,  leaving  religious  in.struction  wholly  to  the  local 
managers.  This  inspectorship  was  to  see  that  the  gov- 
ernment got  the  value  of  its  money. 


PAYMENT    BY    RESULTS. 


247 


The  first  rules  of  administration  adopted  by  the  lords 
of  the  treasury,  and  afterward  by  the  committee  on  edu- 
cation, were  called  ' '  minutes. ' '  But  as  these  minutes 
multiplied,  they  were  finally  gathered  into  a  document 
called  ' '  Code  of  Regulations  by  the  L,ords  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Privy  Council  on  Education;"  or  simph- 
' '  The  Code. ' '  Pursuant  to  the  ninety-seventh  section  of 
the  act  of  1870,  the  department  annually  lays  the  code, 
revised  from  time  to  time,  on  the  table  of  the  Houses  of 
Parliament.  If  it  is  not  amended  by  the  Houses,  or  re- 
jected by  either  of  them,  within  thirt}^  days,  it  goes  into 
effect.  The  code  in  operation  at  any  time  contains  the 
conditions  that  public  elementary  schools  and  training 
colleges  for  teachers  must  comply  with,  in  order  to  obtain 
an  annual  grant  from  the  treasury  in  aid  of  their  main- 
tenance. 

It  was  in  the  Revised  Code  of  1861  that  the  principle 
of  payments  by  results  first  appeared.  Mr.  Robert 
IvOwe,  afterwards  L,ord  Sherbrooke,  was  then  the  head 
of  the  educational  committee.  The  annual  grant  by 
Parliament  had  grown  to  more  than  three-quarters  of  a 
million  sterling.  The  government,  under  the  pecuhar 
system,  had  no  assurance  that  it  was  expending  its  money 
wisely.  Repeated  investigation,  on  the  other  hand, 
proved  very  clearly  that  much  of  it  was  little  better  than 
thrown  away.  Hitherto  the  government  had  made  its 
payments  to  teachers  personally,  according  to  a  prescribed 
schedule.  Many  of  them  v,xre  worse  than  incompetent. 
To  remedy  these  evils,  it  was  proposed  to  make  payments 
to  the  managers  rather  than  to  the  teachers,  and  to  graduate 
them  to  the  results  of  individual  examination  of  pupils, 
or  to  withhold  them  altogether.  More  definitely,  the 
new  propositions  were  these:  "  The  school  must  be  held 
in  approved  premises,  and  must  be  under  the  charge  of  a 


248  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

certificated  teacher;  "  "The  children  must  have  made  a 
certain  number  of  attendances; "  "They  must  pass  an 
individual  examination  in  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic, 
and  according  to  results  in  each  individual  case  a  grant  was 
to  be  made. ' '  This  last  clause  contains  the  principle  of 
payment  by  results  that  is  now  brought  forward  as  a 
solution  of  one  of  our  difficult  educational  problems. 
Mr.  IvOwe  took  the  idea  from  the  recommendations  of 
the  Duke  of  Newcastle's  Commission,  which  had  in- 
vestigated the  state  of  public  education  in  the  years 
1858-1860.  Mr.  I^owe  said  the  government  must  have 
proof  that  the  teachers  were  doing  their  dut)^;  class  ex- 
aminations were  not  adequate;  such  expressions  as  "gen- 
eral efficiency' ' '  and  ' '  moral  atmosphere  ' '  in  the  reports 
of  inspectors  were  "impalpable  essences."  Nothing 
would  do  but  individual  examinations.  Mr.  Lowe  de- 
clared: "If  the  new  system  is  costly,  it  shall  at  least  be 
efficient;  if  it  is  inefficient,  it  shall  be  cheap."  Hence, 
paj-ment  b}^  results  was  mereh'  a  mode  of  guarding  the 
treasury.  An  American  might  think  that  the  proper  pre- 
caution for  the  government  to  have  taken  would  have  been 
to  look  after  the  examination,  selection,  and  supervision  of 
the  teachers.  But  this  the  character  of  the  system  that 
had  grown  up  prevented.  The  government  did  not  ex- 
amine, employ,  or  supervise  the  teachers.  There  were 
no  school  officers  other  than  the  committee  at  Whitehall 
and  the  inspectors  and  clerks  whom  it  appointed.  There 
were  thousands  of  government-assi.sted  schools,  1)ut  there 
was  not  in  England  one  State  school,  as  we  understand 
that  expression.  The  government  had  formed  a  great 
number  of  educational  partnerships  with  local  managers 
scattered  over  the  kingdom,  furni.shing  a  part  of  the 
money,  and  a  general  inspection  to  see  that  it  received  its 
money's  worth.      The  local   managers  provided  the  re- 


PAYMENT    BY    RESULTS. 


249 


mainder  of  the  money  and  local  management.  Fees  were 
generally  charged;  and  there  was  not,  in  our  sense,  a  free 
school  in  England. 

Dissatisfaction  with  this  system  grew  quite  as  rapidly 
as  the  system  itself  But  it  took  very  different  directions. 
The  Established  Church  was  well  satisfied  in  the  main, 
because  the  s^'stem  attended  to  its  aggrandizement.  The 
Dissenters  generally  were  displeased;  and  many  of  them, 
because  they  saw  the  existing  system  contributing  to  the 
upbuilding  of  the  Establishment,  took  the  position,  in 
which  they  were  supported  by  a  considerable  number  oi  doc- 
trinaires, that  the  State  should  not  meddle  with  education, 
but  leave  it  to  voluntary  enterprise.  Then  there  sprang 
up  the  Secularists,  who  stood  on  a  platform  adopted  at 
Birmingham  in  1847:  "  To  promote  the  establishment  bj'^ 
law  in  England  and  Wales  of  a  system  of  free  schools, 
which,  supported  by  local  rates  and  managed  by  a  local 
committee  specially  elected  for  that  purpose  by  the  rate- 
payers, shall  inspect  secular  instruction,  only  leaving  to 
parents,  guardians,  and  religious  teachers  the  instruction 
of  religion;  to  afford  opportunities  for  which  it  is  proposed 
that  the  school  shall  be  closed  at  stated  hours  each 
week. ' ' 

But  in  the  midst  of  the  confusion  there  was  a  growing 
conviction  that  the  State  must  go  farther  and  do  more. 
Popular  education  entered  into  politics.  In  1867  the 
Queen,  in  the  speech  from  the  throne,  commended  the 
subject  to  the  attention  of  Parhament,  and  in  1869  Mr. 
Gladstone  came  into  power,  with  an  immense  majority  in 
the  House  of  Commons  at  his  back,  pledged  to  new  mea- 
sures. One  of  the  great  achievements  of  his  ministry 
was  the  Elementary  Education  Act  of  1870,  often  called 
the   "  Forster  Act,"   from   the    fact  that  it  was  carried 


250  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

through  the  Commons  by  Rt.  Hon.  W.  E.  Forster,  the 
Vice-President  of  the  Council  and  head  of  the  educational 
department.  This  act,  and  two  supplementary  ones,  the 
Sandon  Act  of  1876,  and  the  Mundella  Act  of  1880,  are 
the  basis  of  the  elementary  educational  system  of  Eng- 
land and  Wales  as  it  exists  to-day. 

The  Forster  Act  was  a  great  disappointment  to  those 
who  desired  the  establishment  of  a  State  sj'stem  of  schools, 
pure  and  simple,  leaving  private  schools  and  parochial 
schools  to  find  their  own  place.  It  changed  the  existing 
edifice  somewhat,  put  on  a  large  addition,  and  laid  a  new 
foundation  under  the  whole  structure.  In  explaining 
the  bill,  Mr.  Forster  said  the  government  "must  cover 
the  country  with  good  schools,  and  get  the  parents  to 
send  their  children  to  those  schools. ' '  This  one  sentence 
from  his  speech  well  characterizes  the  measure:  "Our 
object  is  to  complete  the  present  voluntary  system,  to  fill 
up  gaps,  sparing  the  public  money  where  it  can  be  done 
without,  procuring  as  much  as  possible  the  assistance  of 
the  parents,  and  welcoming,  as  much  as  we  rightly  can, 
the  cooperation  and  aid  of  those  benevolent  men  who 
desire  to  assist  their  neighbors. ' '  The  most  radical  feat- 
ure of  the  new  act  was  this:  it  divided  the  kingdom  into 
school  districts;  ascertained  in  what  districts  additional 
school  facilities  were  needed,  and  to  what  extent;  created 
local  school  boards,  empowered  and  required  to  vote  local 
rates  for  the  maintenance  of  schools,  where  they  were 
needed,  to  be  carried  on  under  their  management,  these 
new  board  schools  being  intended  to  fill  the  gaps  in  the 
existing  system. 

The  Act  of  1870  defined  an  elemetary  school  as  "  a 
school  or  department  of  a  school  at  which  elementary 
education  is  the  principal  part  of  the  education  there 
given,  and  does  not  include  an}-  school  or  department  of 


PAYMENT    BY    RESULTS. 


251 


a  school  at  which  the  ordinary  payments  in  respect  of  the 
instruction  from  each  scholar  exceed  ninepence  a  week. ' ' 
The  definition  of  a  public  elementary  school  is  much 
more  elaborate,  viz. : — 

Every  elementary  school  which  is  conducted  in  accordance  with 
the  following  regulations  shall  be  a  public  elementary  school  with- 
in the  meaning  of  this  act;  and  every  public  elementary  school 
shall  be  conducted  in  accordance  with  the  following  regulations  (a 
copy  of  which  regulations  shall  be  conspicuously  put  up  in  ever\- 
such  school),  namely: 

(1)  It  shall  not  be  required,  as  a  condition  of  any  child  being 
admitted  into,  or  continuing  in  the  school,  that  he  shall  attend, 
or  abstain  from  attending,  any  Sunday-school  or  any  place  of 
religious  worship,  or  that  he  shall  attend  any  religious  observance, 
or  any  instruction  in  religious  subjects  in  the  school  or  elsewhere, 
from  which  observance  or  instruction  he  may  be  withdrawn  by 
his  parent,  or  that  he  shall,  if  withdrawn  by  his  parent,  attend  the 
school  on  any  day  exclusively  set  apart  for  religious  observance 
by  the  religious  body  to  which  his  parent  belongs. 

(2)  The  time  or  times  during  which  any  religious  observance  is 
practised,  or  instruction  in  religious  subjects  is  given  at  an)-  meet- 
ing of  the  school,  shall  be  either  at  the  beginning  or  at  the  end. 
or  at  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  such  meeting,  and  shall  be  in- 
serted in  a  time-table  to  be  approved  by  the  Education  Depart- 
ment, and  to  be  kept  permanently  and  conspicuously  affixed  in 
every  schoolroom,  and  any  scholar  may  be  withdrawn  by  his 
parent  from  such  observance  or  instruction  without  forfeiting  any 
of  the  other  benefits  of  the  school. 

(3)  The  school  shall  be  open  at  all  times  to  the  inspection  of  any 
of  Her  Majesty's  Inspectors,  so,  however,  that  it  shall  be  no  part  of 
the  duties  of  such  Inspector  to  inquire  into  any  instruction  in  re- 
ligious subjects  given  at  such  school,  or  to  examine  any  scholar 
therein  in  religious  knowledge,  or  in  any  religious  subject  or  book. 

(4)  The  school  shall  be  conducted  in  accordance  with  the  con- 
ditions required  to  be  fulfilled  by  an  elementary  school  in  order  to 
obtain  an  annual  parliamentary  grant. 

It  will  be  seen  that  a  public  elementary  school  in  Eng- 
land is  something  very  different  from  such  a  school  in  the 


252  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

United  States.  It  may  be  a  board  school  or  a  voluntary 
school;  and  if  a  voluntary  school,  it  may  be  a  Church  school, 
a  Catholic  school,  a  Congregational  school,  or  a  Jewish 
school.  Board  schools  derive  their  income  from  the  par- 
liamentary grants,  the  local  rates,  fees  or  "children's 
pence,"  and  voluntary  contributions.  Voluntary  public 
schools  have  the  same  sources  of  income,  except  the 
rates.  The  conditions  to  be  fulfilled  b}'  schools  in  order 
to  obtain  an  annual  grant,  in  addition  to  those  prescribed 
in  the  law  itself,  are  laid  down  in  the  code.  Some  of  the 
principal  conditions  found  in  the  code  of  March,  1890, 
that  went  into  operation  vSeptember  1  of  that  year,  are  the 
following: 

The  school  must  be  conducted  as  a  public  elementary 
school;  no  child  must  be  refused  admittance  on  other  than 
reasonable  grounds;  the  time-table,  and  also  the  fees 
charged  by  a  board  school,  must  be  approved  by  the 
department;  the  school  must  not  be  unnecessary,  nor  be 
conducted  for  private  profit,  nor  be  farmed  out  to  the 
teachers;  the  principal  teacher  must  be  certificated;  a  day 
school  must  have  been  in  session  not  less  than  400  half- 
days  in  the  year;  the  school  premises  must  be  healthy, 
and  the  school  be  efficient;  the  managers  must  make  the 
required  reports,  and  publish  annually  accounts  of  their 
income  and  expenditure;  and  the  income  must  be  applied 
only  for  the  purposes  of  public  elementary  education. 

The  annual  grants  made  to  schools  complying  with 
these  conditions  consist  of  several  items  that  are  deter- 
mined by  a  set  of  very  technical  rules.  Unless  otherwise 
ordered,  the  grant  is  made  for  each  "unit  of  average 
attendance";  or,  as  we  should  .say,  the  average  daily 
attendance  of  a  pupil  for  the  year.  Omitting  qualifica- 
tions, the  grant  for  an  infant  school,  comprising  children 
of  from  three  to  seven  years  of  age,  is  made  up  as  follows: 


PAYMENT    BY    RESULTS.  353 

(1)  A  fixed  grant  of  9s.  or  7s.;  (2)  a  variable  grant  of 
2s.,  4s.  or  6s.;  (3)  a  grant  of  Is.  for  needlework;  (4)  a 
singing  grant  of  Is. ,  if  the  singing  is  by  note,  or  of  6d.  if 
by  ear.  That  is,  a  "  unit  of  average  attendance  ' '  may 
"earn"  (as  it  is  called)  17s.  for  this  school,  while  fort)' 
such  units  may  earn  forty  times  that  sum. 

The  grants  to  a  school  for  older  scholars  are  much  more 
complicated.  There  is  (1)  a  principal  grant  of  12s.  6d. 
or  14s.;  (2)  a  fixed  grant  for  discipline  and  organization 
of  Is.  or  Is.  6d. ;  (3)  a  grant  for  needlework  of  Is.  (for 
girls  only);  (4)  a  grant  for  singing  of  Is.  or  6d;  (5)  a 
grant  for  examination  in  class  subjects  of  Is.  or  2s.;  (6) 
a  grant  on  examination  of  individual  scholars  in  specific 
subjects  of  4s.;  (7)  a  grant  (for  girls)  for  cooking;  and 
(8)  a  grant  (for  girls  also)  for  laundry  work.  Class  sub- 
jects are  English,  geography,  elementary  science,  histor}-, 
and  needlework  for  girls.  The  specific  subjects  are  alge- 
bra, geometry,  mechanics,  chemistr}^,  physics,  physiology, 
botany,  principles  of  agriculture,  Latin,  French,  domestic 
economy,  Welsh  (in  Wales),  German,  bookkeeping,  and 
shorthand. 

Then  there  are  special  grants  for  day  schools  in  respect 
of  pupil  teachers  and  of  assistant  teachers  employed  for 
schools  so  situated  that  they  are  put  to  unusual  expense, 
and  for  evening  schools.  Training  colleges  for  teachers 
are  also  provided  for.  The  total  annual  grant  to  any 
school,  exclusive  of  special  grants,  shall  not  exceed  either 
17s.  6d.  for  each  unit  of  school  attendance,  or  the  total 
income  of  the  school  from  all  other  .sources  than  the  grant. 
It  may  be  asked  why  the  grant  varies,  consisting  of  so 
many  different  items.  The  answer  is  easy.  It  was  found 
necessary  to  break  up  the  monotony  developed  under  the 
Revi-sed  Code  of  1861,  when  the  aim  of  school  managers 
was  to  crowd  as  many  pupils  as  possible  through  three  or 


254  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

four  elementary  studies,  because  in  that  way  they  would 
earn  most  money. 

Such,  in  outline,  is  the  origin  and  nature  of  the  rule  of 
payment  by  results.  Mr.  Matthew  Arnold  once  charac- 
terized it  in  this  way : 

To  a  clever  Minister  and  an  austere  Secretary,  to  the  House 
of  Commons  and  the  newspapers,  the  scheme  of  "payment  by 
results,"  and  those  results  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic,  "the 
most  necessary  part  of  what  children  come  to  school  to  learn  " — a 
scheme  which  should  make  public  education  "  if  not  efficient, 
cheap,  and  if  not  cheap,  efficient'" — was,  of  course,  attractive.  It 
was  intelligible,  plausible,  likely  to  be  carried,  likely  to  be  main- 
tainable after  it  had  been  carried.  That,  by  concentrating  the 
teacher's  attention  upon  enabling  his  .scholars  to  pass  in  the  three 
elementary  matters,  it  must  injure  the  teaching,  narrow  it,  and 
make  it  mechanical,  was  an  educator's  objection  easily  brushed 
aside  by  our  public  men.  * 

This  scheme  was  adopted  in  the  face  of  the  remonstrance 
of  the  highest  educational  authorities  of  the  country.  It 
was  the  device  of  a  man  who  looked  at  education  from  the 
.standpoint  of  the  treasury,  and  not  the  .standpoint  of  the 
schoolhou.se.  It  has  never  been  adopted  on  the  Continent; 
and  Mr.  Arnold  attributes  much  of  the  inferiority  of  the 
English  schools  to  its  harmful  influence.  It  was  a  make- 
.shift  when  adopted,  and  a  confession  on  its  face  that  Eng- 
land had  no  system  of  State  schools.  It  corrected  the 
particular  evils  that  troubled  Mr.  Lowe,  as  is  shown  by 
the  large  falling-off  in  the  grants  from  1860  to  1869;  but 
it  engendered  other  evils  that  a  high  authority  has  thus 
summarized: 

(a)  It  has  organized  a  system  of  cram,  under  which  "  results," 
measured  by  the  standard  examinations  as  opposed  to  "  methods," 
have  received  undue  recognition  and  reward.      {d)    All  scholars, 

»  The  Reign  of  Queen  Victoria.  Edited  by  T.  H.  Ward.  Vol. 
II.,  p.  261. 


PAYMENT    BY    RESULTS.  35  S 

whether  clever  or  dullards,  progress  at  the  same  rate — one  staud- 
ard  per  annum;  and  at  the  same  rate  in  all  subjects  simultane- 
ously, (c)  The  degree  of  success,  with  neglect,  incapacity,  and  the 
bad  influences  of  home  surroundings,  meets  with  little  recognition 
as  compared  with  the  success  in  "  passing  "  a  high  percentage  of 
scholars,  {d)  The  profession  of  the  teacher  is  degraded  by  per- 
sistent and  obtrusive  appeals  to  the  desire  of  gain.  In  the 
absence  of  monetary  inducements,  teachers  are  tempted  to  neglect 
scholars  who  are  not  likely  to  earn  good  grants,  (e)  Little 
encouragement  is  given  to  teachers  to  forward  the  higher  moral 
and  intellectual  training  of  their  scholars,  as  opposed  to  the  mere 
acquisition  of  mechanical  facilities  in  the  subjects  of  examination. 
{/)  Scholars  trained  under  this  system,  and  subsequently  passing 
on  to  secondary  schools,  are  characterized  by  a  lack  of  mental 
alertness,  and  frequently  disappoint  their  early  promise. ' 

For  man}"  years  the  most  intelligent  friends  of  education 
in  England  have  been  struggling  to  rid  the  schools  of  this 
system.  The  Education  Department  itself  has  labored  to 
mitigate  its  evils;  in  the  last  code,  for  instance,  it  threw 
individual  examinations  for  grants  out  of  the  infant  schools 
altogether,  and  otherwise  limited  their  operations.  But  all 
efforts  to  throw  off  the  incubus  have  hitherto  proved 
unavailing.  It  was  adopted  in  the  interest  of  the  treasury-, 
rather  than  of  the  schoolhouse;  and  it  is  felt  in  influential 
quarters  that  the  need  still  exists,  in  view  of  the  mixed 
character  of  the  public  school  sj'stem.  The  department 
could  easily  manage  the  board  schools,  but  there  have 
grown  up  since  1832  thousands  of  voluntar}'  schools  that 
are  fed  from  the  treasury  by  this  principle  as  a  feeding- 
pipe.  There  has  been  since  18-10  a  veritable  concordat 
existing  between  the  State  and  the  Church  schools,  and 
this  the  State  does  not  see  its  way  to  break  up.  What  the 
future  may  be,  it  is  hard  to  predict;  but  for  the  time  sec- 
tarianism is  the  pledge  of  the  sy.stem  of  payment  by 
results  in  the  schools  of  England. 

'  Sonnenschein's  Cydopcpdia  o/EducaHon:  Payment  by  Results. 


256  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

To  adopt  this  system  in  the  United  States  would  be  the 
height  of  foil}'.  There  would  arise  S3'stenis  of  schools 
within  a  S5''stem.  There  would  be  the  board  public 
schools,  the  Catholic  public  schools,  the  Lutheran  public 
schools,  and  so  on.  As  a  consequence,  children  and 
teachers  w^ould  be  segregated  according  to  their  religious 
affiliations;  points  of  friction  would  be  multiplied;  irrita- 
tion and  jealousy  would  increase,  and  the  public  school 
system,  in  the  best  of  all  senses,  would  cease  to  exist. 

Not  very  long  ago  the  older  portions  of  the  United 
States  were  svipplied  with  schools  of  a  ver}'  heterogene- 
ous character.  In  most  States  there  were  the  State 
schools,  not  well  organized  and  nowhere  free.  In  all  the 
States  there  were  private  schools  and  denominational 
schools  of  various  kinds.  Among  these  schools  the 
children  were  distributed  with  large  reference  to  social 
rank,  condition,  and  religious  connections.  Narrowness 
and  selfishness  were  the  result.  It  is  the  glory  of  the 
public-school  S3\stem,  as  it  now  exists,  to  have  swept  this 
order  of  things  awa}'.  Thousands  of  private  schools  and 
denominational  schools  have  disappeared.  Save  the  large 
number  of  children  in  the  Catholic  parochial  schools,  and 
the  relatively  small  number  found  in  the  parochial  schools 
of  other  churches  and  in  private  schools,  the  children  of 
the  State  have  been  brought  together  in  one  s}-stem  of 
schools,  erected  and  supported  by  the  State.  With  all 
their  faults,  the  intellectual,  moral,  social,  and  political 
interests  of  the  country  have  been  greatly  promoted  by 
these  schools.  To  build  up  this  system  has  cost  a  vast 
amount  of  labor,  thought,  and  mone}-.  It  has  been 
opposed  at  every  step  by  the  champions  of  special  educa- 
tional views  and  of  narrow  interests.  It  is  one  system,  and 
one  it  is  likely  to  remain.  In  England,  where  social  distinc- 
tions are  old  and   firmly  rooted;    where  the  Established 


PAYMENT   BY    RESULTS.  257 

Church  is  all  powerful;  where  the  strife  between  the 
Establishment  and  Nonconformity  is  bitter,  payment  by 
results  may  be  temporarily  useful  in  aiding  the  people  to 
reach  a  unified  system  of  State  schools.  In  the  United 
States  there  is  little  reason  to  fear  that  it  will  be  allowed 
first  to  disintegrate  and  finally  to  destroy  the  noble  system 
that  now  exists. 

Note.— Some  important  educational  history  has  been  made  in 
England  since  this  paper  was  written,  and  in  part  since  it  was 
published.  Payment  by  results  has  been  almost  wholly  abandoned. 
Moreover,  Parliament  passed  an  act  in  1891  that  materially 
changed  the  financial  support  of  schools.  The  full  text  of  this 
act  may  be  found  in  The  Educational  Review.  Vol.  II. ,  p.  303,  et 
seq. 


XIII. 

THE   BUSINESS   SIDE    OF   CITY 

SCHOOL   SYSTEMS.^ 

HE  school  system  of  a  republican  state  is  not 
only  for  the  people,  but  of  the  people,  and  by 
the  people.  It  will  therefore  reflect  the  popu- 
lar intelligence,  virtue,  and  spirit.  It  may  in- 
deed be  better  or  worse  than  its  creators,  but  only  for  a 
limited  time.  The  schools  of  any  community  or  state,  in  the 
long  run,  will  not  rise  far  above  or  fall  far  below  the  civil- 
ization around  them.  Owing  to  a  happy  conjunction  of 
circumstances,  they  ma}'^  pass  beyond  the  range  of  public 
appreciation  and  sympathy;  but  if  so,  they  will  either  fall 
back  to  the  people,  or  halt  until  the  people  overtake 
them.  Owing  to  unfavorable  influences,  the  schools  may 
fall  into  the  rear  of  the  column,  and  fail  to  express  the 
average  culture  and  life;  but  if  so,  the  public  will  in  time 
find  it  out,  and  will  compel  them  to  quicken  their  pace. 
Guizot  holds  that  civilization  consists  of  two  principal 
facts— the  progress  of  society  and  the  progress  of  the  in- 
dividual; and  he  says:  "  The  two  events  are  so  intimately 
connected  that,  if  they  are  not  produced  simultaneousl)^ 
sooner  or  later  one  uniformly  produces  the  other.  ""^ 
Herbert  Spencer  hints  a  similar  philosophy  in  hiscelebrated 
remark,  with  which  as  a  fact  we  have  nothing  to  do,  that 
we  Americans  got  our  form  of  government  by  a  happy  acci- 

'  Report  of  the  Committee  on    City   Schools  to   the   National 
Council  of  Education.     San  Francisco,  Cal.,  July,  1888. 
*  History  of  Civilization,  Lect.  I. 

•J.58 


THE  BUSINESS  SIDE  OF  CITY  SCHOOL  SYSTEMS.     259 

dent,  not  by  normal  progress;  and  that  we  shall  have  to  go 
backward  before  we  can  go  forward.'  In  the  long  run,  a 
progressive  society  moves  as  a  unit  and  not  in  sections; 
and  between  the  public  schools  and  the  public  there  will 
always  be  intimate  reciprocal  relations.  One  of  the  many 
deductions  to  be  drawn  from  this  truth  is,  that  we  cannot 
give  any  people  a  useful  sj^stem  of  schools:  such  schools 
must  grow  up  on  the  soil,  and  be  an  expression  of  the 
popular  life. 

The  relations  of  the  people  to  the  public  schools  in  an 
American  state  may  be  thus  analyzed: — 

First,  they  delegate  to  the  legislature,  in  the  State  con- 
stitution, power  to  constitute  and  sustain  a  system  of 
schools. 

Secondly,  the  legislature  creates  such  asj^stem,  delegat- 
ing to  local  authorities,  variously  called  the  sch'oolboard , 
the  school-committee,  etc.,  power  to  organize  and  carry 
on  schools  in  their  respective  localities. 

Thirdly,  the  board,  in  the  discharge  of  its  legal  duties, 
delegates  to  teachers  the  functions  of  teaching  and  disci- 
pline, subject  to  the  law  and  the  board's  supervision. 

Fourthly,  the  people  elect,  at  frequently  recurring 
periods,  the  members  of  the  legislature,  and  commonly  of 
the  board  itself;  while  within  these  periods  they  exert,  or 
may  exert,  a  strong  influence  over  legislature,  board, 
and  teachers  alike.  As  respects  the  last,  this  influence 
is  so  strong  that  it  may  be  doubted  whether  any  corps 
of  teachers  in  the  country  could  resist  an  energetic 
expression  of  public  opinion  on  any  matter  that  it  can 
change  for  ten  consecutive  days.  Thus  the  popular  power 
returns  to  itself,  constituting  a  circle.  In  fact,  there  is 
no  other  American  institution  that,  taking  everything  to- 
gether, is  so  democratic  as  the  public  school. 

1  Herbert  Spencer  ott  the  Americans. 


26o  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

It  will  be  seen  that  a  system  of  public  schools,  in  oper- 
ation, presents  four  phases  to  our  view:  the  work  of  the 
legislature,  the  work  of  the  board,  the  work  of  the 
teachers,  and  the  work  of  the  public.  This  report  will 
partially  traverse  all  these  divisions,  but  will  deal  mainly 
with  the  board. 

Between  the  schools  of  a  city  considered  as  an  organiza- 
tion of  business  and  as  an  organization  of  instruction, 
there  is  a  strong  reciprocal  influence.  The  two  cannot  be 
permanently  separated  in  character  more  than  the  schools 
can  be  separated  from  the  civilization  in  the  midst  of 
which  they  exist.  The  board  formally  enacts  courses 
of  study,  chooses  text-books,  and  elects  teachers,  as 
well  as  builds  buildings;  it  establishes  formal  rules 
of  discipline  and  has  the  power,  which  it  often  exer- 
cises, to  set  up  standards  of  examination;  and,  by  its 
manner  of  doing  business,  the  culture,  tone,  and  bearing, 
etc.,  of  its  members,  greatly  influences  teachers,  giv- 
ing them  courage  or  otherwise,  and  also  affects  the  morale 
of  the  schools  and  public  opinion.  So  strongly  was  the 
late  Dr.  Philbrick  impressed  by  these  facts  that  he  passed 
by  the  Prussian  maxim,  "As  is  the  teacher,  so  is  the 
school,"  and  the  Dutch  maxim,  "As  your  inspection  is, 
so  is  the  school,"  to  formulate  the  maxim,  "As  is  your 
.school  board,  so  are  your  schools."  '  At  the  same  time 
teachers  are  an  educational  force  of  unquestionable 
.strength  over  and  above  what  they  do  in  .schoolrooms.  If 
able  and  devoted,  they  .slowly  rai.se  the  standard  of  intel- 
ligence; they  act  directly  upon  public  opinion,  and,  through 
that,  are  felt  in  the  election  of  members  and  in  the  coun- 
.sels  of  the  board;  while  they  act  upon  that  body  directly 
through  their  expert  knowledge  and  moral  force. 

•  City  School  Systems  in  the  United  States,  p.  14. 


THE  BUSINESS  SIDE  OF  CITY  SCHOOL  SYSTEMS.     261 

It  does  not  follow  from  this  reasoning  that  the  business 
and  educational  sides  of  a  system  of  schools,  will,  at  any 
given  time,  be  equally  well  developed.  Far  from  it.  At 
the  present  time,  for  example,  the  schools  as  organiza- 
tions of  instruction  are  better  than  the  schools  as  organ- 
izations of  business;  that  is,  the  teachers,  open  as  they 
may  be  to  criticism,  are  still  somewhat  in  advance  of 
average  public  sentiment  and  of  average  board  admin- 
istration. The  pressing  need  of  the  hour  is,  for  the 
people  and  the  board  to  overtake  the  teachers.  Still, 
such  a  state  of  things  as  this  cannot  last  long;  good 
schools,  a  bad  schoolboard,  and  an  indifferent  or  ignor- 
ant public  opinion  will  not  long  exist  side  by  side  in  the 
same  city;  the  board  and  the  public  will  rise  to  the  level 
of  the  schools,  or  the  schools  will  fall  to  the  level  of  the 
board  and  the  public. 

Perhaps  two  or  three  further  remarks  touching  the 
relations  of  teachers  and  the  board  may  be  permitted. 

Instruction  is  so  purely  a  professional  matter  that  the 
board  is  commonly  disposed  to  allow  teachers  to  make  the 
course  of  study,  to  set  the  standard  of  examinations,  and 
to  invent  methods  of  instruction;  but  it  accords  them  no 
power,  and  but  limited  influence,  in  the  selection  of  text- 
books and  in  fixing  the  qualifications  of  teachers,  not  to 
mention  matters  of  a  purely  business  nature,  as  finance, 
construction,  and  the  like.  So  far  as  merely  business 
matters  are  concerned,  some  boards  are  sensitive  even  to 
suggestions  from  teachers.  "Stick  to  your  last!  "  is  the 
sentiment  that  burns  in  the  breast  of  many  a  l^oard- mem- 
ber. In  fact,  there  is  reason  to  think  that,  owing  to  the 
division  of  labor,  and  perhaps  to  other  causes,  the  admin- 
istrative and  teaching  functions  of  the  schools  are 
becoming  more  widely  separated  than  formerly.  In  some 
places  board-members  appear  to  take  less  interest  in  the 


262  STUDIES    IX    EDUCATION. 

schools  as  places  of  teaching,  leaving  them  more  and 
more  to  the  teachers,  while  they  more  and  more  magnify 
their  own  peculiar  ofhce.  It  is  always  difficult  to  prove 
propositions  relating  to  the  slow  drift  of  opinion  or  of 
social  change;  but  it  is  at  least  questionable  whether  in 
some  States  the  influence  of  teachers  in  school  legislation 
is  equal  to  what  it  was  thirty  years  ago.  At  least,  the 
teachers  of  whole  States  have  called  upon  the  legislature 
again  and  again  for  legislation  of  the  value  of  which  they 
are  not  only  the  best,  but  almost  the  only  competent 
judges;  and  only  to  see  their  call  fall  at  the  feet  of  legis- 
lators powerless  and  dead.  More  than  formerly,  educa- 
tional meetings  are  gatherings  of  teachers;  fewer  outsiders 
appear  on  the  programmes;  and  the  subjects  discussed  are 
more  professional  and  less  administrative  or  popular. 
Perhaps  this  closer  specialization  of  functions  is  attended 
by  some  advantages;  it  certainly  is  by  some  disadvan- 
tages. 

However  they  may  differ  as  to  these  general  views, 
practical  school  men  will  generally,  if  not  universally, 
agree  that  the  constitution  and  powers  of  the  schoolboard, 
the  mode  of  selecting  its  members,  and  its  methods  of 
doing  business  are  all  live  school  questions.  They  will 
be  briefly  discussed  in  order. 

I.  The,  Constilution  and  Powers  of  the  Board. — The 
constitution  and  powers  of  the  board,  which  is  neces- 
sarily the  creature  of  State  law,  must  depend  in  a  measm-e 
on  the  local  political  institutions  of  the  State.  Manifestly, 
the  town  s>-stem  of  New  England,  the  county  system  of 
the  vSouth,  and  the  compromise  system  of  the  Middle 
States  and  the  West  will  materially  influence  the  school 
legislation  of  these  groups  of  States.  In  fact,  we  have 
no  difficulty  in  dividing  our  5)tate  .school  laws  and  sy.stems 


THE  BUSINESS  SIDE  OF  CITY  SCHOOL  SYSTEMS.     26;^ 

into  three  classes  corresponding  to  these  three  groups  of 
local  institutions.  In  New  England  the  local  school 
authorities  are  either  town  oflScers  or  district  ofl&cers,  or 
both ;  in  the  South  they  are  mainly  county  and  district 
officers;  while  in  the  vast  region  covered  by  the  compro- 
mise system,  town  and  county  officers,  and  often  district 
officers,  unite  in  administering  the  schools.  It  is  there- 
fore impossible  to  create  a  model  school  system,  or  even 
school-board,  that  would  answer  for  all  parts  of  the 
country.  A  county  superintendent  would  be  an  anomaly 
in  New  England,  where  the  county  is  a  judicial  but 
hardly  a  political  division;^  a  town  meeting  would  be  an 
anomaly  in  the  South,  where  the  town  in  a  political  sense 
does  not  exist ;  while  in  the  West  both  town  elements  and 
county  elements  are  mingled  in  all  the  school  systems. 
These  facts  of  local  institutional  life  will  differentiate  our 
school  laws  and  our  school  systems  as  long  as  they  con- 
tinue to  exist.  Men  will  not  be  apt  to  use  the  county 
or  the  town  for  school  purposes  unless  they  also  use  it 
for  political  purposes. 

To  a  great  extent,  however,  city  schools  must  be 
excepted  from  the  foregoing  generalization.  Generally 
speaking,  such  schools  exist  under  special  charters  or  laws, 
or  the  general  school  laws  of  the  State  are  supplemented 
by  special  provisions.  Thus,  the  laws  of  Ohio  contain 
numerous  provisions  relating  to  city  districts  of  the  first 
grade  of  the  first  class,  of  the  second  grade  of  the  first 
class,  etc.  As  a  consequence  of  this  partial  withdrawal  of 
the  city  schools  from  the  larger  systems,  and  of  the  prev- 
alence in  American  cities  of  similar  conditions,  the  city 
schools  are  much  more  homogeneous  as  respects  both  the 
organization  of  business  and  the  organization  of  instruc- 

1  The  county  superintendency  has  been  introduced  into 
Vermont. 


264  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

tion  than  the  country  and  village  schools.  Moreover,  the 
conditions  existing  in  cities  are  such  that  this  segregation 
of  the  schools  is  a  necessity.  For  example,  the  schools 
of  a  city  cannot  be  made,  or  be  kept,  subject  to  the  county 
supervision;  nor  can  the  board  be  compelled  to  wait  on 
the  motions  of  a  township  board.  There  must  be  a  local 
authority  coextensive  with  the  jurisdiction,  legally  capa- 
ble of  taking  the  initiative.  So  very  strong  is  this  ten- 
dency that  even  small  villages  struggle  for  and  obtain 
school  autonom}'. 

But  the  question  of  city  autonomy  disposed  of,  a  more 
difficult  question  remains,  viz. :  What  shall  be  the  rela- 
tion of  the  local  board  to  the  municipal  government? 
Shall  it  be  independent,  or  shall  it  be  subordinate? 
And  if  subordinate,  to  what  extent?  In  New  England, 
where  the  town  meeting  in  its  sovereign  capacity  passes 
on  all  fundamental  questions  of  local  government,  includ- 
ing the  schools,  this  cannot  be  a  very  important  question; 
but  in  places  where  the  local  government  is  representative, 
and  not  democratic,  it  is  of  much  importance.  The  cities 
of  the  country  present  the  widest  contrasts  in  this  respect. 
In  some,  the  school  board  is  as  completely  independent  of 
the  city  council  and  all  other  municipal  authorities  as 
though  the  two  did  not  belong  to  the  same  municipality ; 
while  in  others,  nothing  done  by  the  board  is  done  finally 
until  the  council  has  ratified  it.  Both  of  these  are  ex- 
treme plans.  However,  this  question  will  not  be  discussed 
here,  except  to  say  that  the  arguments  in  favor  of  keep- 
ing the  financial  affairs  of  the  city  unified  are,  from  the 
side  of  municipal  administration,  absolutely  conclusive; 
and  that  there  is  no  more  reason  for  giving  the  educational 
department  autonomy  than  for  giving  it  to  the  parks,  the 
streets,  or  the  fire  department.  Education  is  a  civil 
affair,  but  not  an  autonomous  affair.     Of  cour.se,  it  does 


THE  BUSINESS  SIDE  OF  CITY  SCHOOL  SYSTEMS.    265 

not  follow  that  it  would  always  be  wise  to  reorgani/x*  an 
autonomous  board. 

The  powers  of  the  board,  from  the  very  nature  of  the 
case,  must  be  partly  legislative,  as  in  the  adoption  of 
studies,  books,  and  rules;  partly  executive,  as  in  the  elec- 
tion of  teachers;  and  partly  judicial,  as  in  liandHng  cases 
of  discipline.  The  proper  size  of  a  city  board  is  a  ques- 
tion that  cannot  be  answered  off-hand.  Something 
would  depend  on  the  size  of  the  city  and  the  traditions 
of  the  people;  and  much  more  on  the  manner  in  which  the 
board  organizes  its  business.  Both  of  these  points  will 
be  touched  again  in  connection  with  that  topic. 

II.  The  Selection  of  Board- Members. — The  problem  of 
securing  competent  schoolboards  in  cities  remains  un- 
solved. Its  importance  and  difficulty  so  impressed  Dr. 
Philbrick  that  he  wrote:  "Without  doubt,  this  is  the 
supreme  educational  problem  which  remains  for  our 
educational  statesmanship  to  grapple  with.'"  There  are 
two  general  modes  of  selecting  board-members,  each  of 
which  presents  several  species. 

First,  popular  election.  Here  the  species  are:  (1)  Elec- 
tion by  ward  or  district  ticket  of  members  to  represent  the 
ward;  (2)  election  by  city  ticket  of  members  to  represent 
the  city;  (3)  the  combination  of  the  two  foregoing  plans — 
thus  constituting  a  board  composed  of  local  members  and  of 
members-at-large.  As  respects  these  three  plans,  what  is 
best  administered  is  best;  and  tio  wise  educator  would  rec- 
ommend that  any  one  of  them  that  is  now  working  satis- 
factorily in  any  citj'  should  be  dropped  for  either  of  the 
others.  They  are  all  in  harmony  with  the  prevalent 
political  and  social  temper  of  American  society;  and  there 
is  no  one  of  them  that  may  not,  under  favorable  condi- 

^  City  School  System  in  the  United  States,  p.  16. 


266  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

tions,  produce  satisfactor}-  results.  Moreover,  if  a  board 
were  now  first  to  be  constituted  in  a  rising  city,  a 
practical  educator,  if  consulted,  might  find  it  hard  to 
choose  among  them. 

In  cities  where  the  ward-ticket  plan  has  led  to  gross 
abuses,  it  is  common  for  citizens  to  look  with  favor  on  the 
general-ticket  plan.  Nor  can  it  be  denied  that  this  plan 
is  supported  by  some  plausible  arguments.  It  is  said  that 
the  small  men  who  work  into  the  board  from  the  wards 
never  could  be  elected  on  a  city  ticket;  that  only  men  of 
some  intellectual  and  moral  qualifications  could  secure  the 
party  nominations;  or  that,  if  they  did,  they  could  not 
secure  the  requisite  votes  to  elect  them;  that  ward  issues, 
ward  "  slates,"  and  ward  men,  would  give  way  to  educa- 
tional men; — in  a  word,  that  men  could  no  longer  be 
elected  to  manage  the  public  schools  simply  because  they 
favored  opening  the  saloons  on  Sunday  or  for  some  similar 
reason. 

It  may  be  doubted  whether  this  reasoning  is  not  more 
specious  than  solid.  The  party  candidates  would  be 
nominated  by  the  city  caucus;  the  nominations  would  go 
to  the  foot  of  the  list,  and  so  be  made  after  the  chief 
municipal  officers  had  been  designated;  the  caucus  would 
have  spent  its  strength  and  interest  in  these  other  nomin- 
ations; and  we  may  well  question  whether  the  opportunity 
for  improper  men  to  secure  the  nominations  would  not  he 
as  good  as  now,  if  not  better.  Nor  is  it  probable  that 
citizens  would  be  more  independant  of  party  when  it 
came  to  voting  than  they  now  are.  In  some  cities  the 
board  would  consist  wholly  of  members  of  one  party. 
These  are  theoretical  arguments;  but  to  some  degree  at 
least  they  have  been  confirmed  by  experience.  A  culti- 
vated gentleman,  who  was  at  the  time  president  of  a  city 
sch(j(jlb()ard,  after  listening  courteously  to  the  argument 


THE  BUSIxNESS  SIDE  OF  CITY  SCHOOL  SYSTEMS.     267 

for  the  general-ticket  plan,   said,    smiling,    "It  doesn't 

work  so  in ,"  (naming  his  own  city  j.     It  is  true  that 

these  objections  would  be  partially  overcome  if  the  elec- 
tion were  made  a  special  one;  but  in  that  case  new 
difficulties  might  arise.  At  all  events,  this  plan  will  hardly 
furnish  the  looked-for  means  of  escape  from  existing  evils. 
The  complexity  of  the  combination  plan  is  no  doubt  an 
objection  to  that. 

Scrvid/y,  appointment.  Four  varieties  of  this  method 
are  found  in  operation:  Appointment  (1;  by  the  city 
council;  (2)  by  the  judges  of  the  courts;  (8)  by  the 
mayor;  (4)  by  the  mayor  by  and  with  the  consent  of  the 
council.  Although  the  first  of  these  plans  may  work  well 
in  some  instances,  it  cannot,  for  obvious  reasons,  be  gen- 
erally recommended;  but  there  are  no  a  priori  reasons 
why  any  one  of  the  others  should  not  produce  satisfactory 
results.  The  argument  in  favor  of  an  appointive  board 
will  be  briefly  sketched. 

The  grand  cause  of  bad  schoolboards  in  cities  is  the 
same  as  the  grand  cause  of  bad  city  administration  gener- 
ally, viz. :  the  triumph  of  politics  over  business  methods. 
How  complete  that  triumph  is  in  many  cities,  all  men 
know  who  are  even  casually  acquainted  with  current 
municipal  affairs.  In  fact,  one  of  the  pressing  political 
questions  is  the  thorough  reform  of  municipal  govern- 
ment. There  is  no  reason  to  think  that  in  this  respect 
the  .schools  have  suffered  more  or  less  than  other  depart- 
ments of  cit}'  government.  It  is  to  be  observed,  however, 
that  the  real  nature  of  the  evils  that  politics  inflicts  upon 
the  school,  or  even  upon  city  administration  as  a  whole, 
is  not  always  understood.  No  doubt  partisan  politics- 
Republican  and  Democratic  politics — has  much  to  answer 
for;  but  school  ^oX\\\q.s — the  application  of  the  politician's 
methods  to  .school  questions— does  far  more  harm. 


268  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

Those  men  who  have  studied  municipal  questions  most 
thoroughly  are  convinced  that  there  is  no  ultimate  means 
of  escape  from  existing  evils  but  by  reducing  the  number 
of  elections  and  elective  officers,  by  limiting  the  power  of 
the  municipal  legislature,  and  by  materially  increasing  the 
power  and  responsibility  of  the  chief  municipal  executive. 
The  city  of  Philadelphia  has  already  been  thoroughly 
reorganized  on  what  is  called  ' '  the  Federal  Plan ' ' ;  and 
the  city  of  Cleveland  has  sent  a  monster  petition  of  its 
business  and  professional  men  to  the  State  legislature, pray- 
ing for  a  similar  reorganization.'  The  solution  of  city- 
school  administration  must  be  sought  in  the  same  quarter. 

The  maj'or  of  the  city,  or  the  judges,  would  be  able  to 
appoint  a  better  school  board  than  the  people  at  large  are 
able  to  elect.  The  abstract  proposition  that  the  people 
have  abundant  intelligence  and  virtue  to  name  a  board, 
although  true,  is  nothing  to  the  purpose.  The  concrete 
question,  What  are  citizens  doing,  and  likely  to  do, 
under  the  conditions  actually  existing  in  the  cities,  ridden 
and  handicapped  as  they  are  by  the  politicians  ?  is  the  one 
to  be  considered.  Furthermore,  the  mayor,  if  he  failed 
to  use  his  power,  could  be  and  would  be  held  to  a  strict 
accountability.  And  the  same  of  the  judges.  No  doubt 
it  will  be  objected  that  these  officers,  and  particularly  the 
mayor,  would  abuse  the  power;  but  cities  can  be  named 
that  never  had  a  mayor  who  would  dare  to  appoint  such 
a  board  as  the  people  habitually  elect,  save  when  aroused 
to  spasmodic  action  by  an  accumulation  of  abuses.  The 
mayor  is  one  man,  and  an  officer  who  can  be  arraigned  at 
the  bar  of  public  opinion;  while  the  demos  is  not  respon- 
sible, since  experience  proves  the  futility  of  calling  any 
power  to  account  at  its  own  bar. 

1  vSuch  reorganization  has  been  since  accomplished,  including 
the  schools. 


THE  BUSINESS  SIDE  OF  CITY  SCHOOL  SYSTEMS.     269 

There  can  be  little,  if  aii}',  doubt  that  the  public  would 
exercise  far  more  control  over  the  schools  by  the  appoint- 
ive plan  than  it  does  or  can  exercise  by  the  elective  plan. 
It  can  compel  the  mayor  to  do  what  it  cannot  do  itself. 
Guizot  has  shown  that  public  opinion  is  sometimes  far 
more  efficacious  than  legal  institutions.  "It  is  very  nat- 
ural," he  says,  "that  men  should  wish  their  intelligence 
to  be  prompt  and  apparent;  that  they  should  covet  the 
credit  of  promoting  success,  of  establishing  power,  of 
producing  triumph.  But  this  is  not  always  either  possi- 
ble or  useful.  There  are  times  and  situations  when  the 
indirect,  unperceived  influence  is  more  beneficial,  more 
practicable."*  The  present  case  is  one  of  those  in  which 
influence  will  prove  greater  than  power. 

With  the  change  in  the  mode  of  appointment  should 
also  come  a  lengthening  of  the  term  of  service.  Now 
the  legal  term  is  commonly  short,  and  changes  of  one 
kind  and  another  tend  to  make  the  actual  time  still 
shorter.  In  the  schoolboard  of  a  certain  city  of  a  quar- 
ter of  million  people,  sixty  different  men  might  have  sat 
from  1882  to  1886,  and  fifty-one  men  did  actually  sit. 
The  eighty-six  years  of  aggregate  service  divided  by  the 
aggregate  number  of  members  gives  an  average  period  of 
one  year  and  a  half.  Words  can  hardly  tell  the  ignorance, 
incapacity,  and  friction  that  such  a  system  introduces 
into  the  school  administration. 

III.  Mode  of  Board  Administration. — The  board  must 
be  clothed  by  the  law  with  legislative,  executive,  and 
judicial  powers  and  duties.  One  of  the  first  things 
that  it  should  do,  however,  is  immediately  to  divest  itself 
of  most  of  its  executive  and  judicial  duties,  and  to  con- 
fine  itself  mainly   to   legislation.     The   reasons   why   a 

^History  of  Civilization,  Lect.  VI. 


270  STUDIES    IX    EDUCATION. 

board  is  a  bad  executive  body  are  obvious,  and  do  not 
call  for  formal  statement.  But  it  is  important  to  point 
out  how  its  executive  duties  should  be  discharged. 

Acting  as  a  legislature,  the  board  should  establish 
three  executive  departments,  defining  their  powers  and 
duties. 

The  Department  of  Finance,  Accounts,  and  Records. 

The  Department  of  Construction,  Repairs,  and  Supplies. 

The  Department  of  Instruction  and  Discipline. 

The  heads  of  the  departments  might  be  called  the  Aud- 
itor, the  Superintendent  of  Construction,  and  the  Superin- 
tendent of  the  Schools.  Nothing  will  be  said  here  of 
their  qualifications  further  than  that  they  should  be  men 
of  decided  ability  and  character,  having  each  an  expert 
knowledge  of  the  important  duties  committed  to  their 
charge. 

These  departments  should  be  as  permanent  and  effi- 
cient, relatively,  as  the  executive  departments  of  the 
State  or  National  government;  perhaps  it  would  be  wise 
to  have  them  provided  for  in  the  school  law  itself;  cer- 
tainly they  should  be  put  high  beyond  the  reach  of  hasty 
board  action.  It  is  not  necessary  in  this  report  to  cata- 
logue the  duties  that  would  fall  to  them  respectively; 
but  it  is  necessary  to  insist  that  they  should  be  the  sole 
channels  of  executive  administration,  within  their  several 
limits.  Judicial  functions,  so  far  as  employes  are  con- 
cerned, should  be  delegated  to  the  heads  of  these  depart- 
ments, reserving  the  right  of  appeal  to  the  board,  duly 
limited. 

School  administration  in  cities  is  still  organized  essen- 
tially as  it  was  when  the  cities  were  villages-  While  this 
organization  answered  the  villages  well  enough,  it  is  now 
far  outgrown.  To  be  sure,  semblances  of  executive  de- 
partments are  found  in  these  organizations,  but  they  are 


THE  BUSINESS  SIDE  OF  CITY  SCHOOL  SYSTl^MS.     27T 

embryonic  and  feeble.  To  a  very  great  extent  boards 
intrust  administration  to  committees  of  their  own  number. 
This  is  not  quite  so  absurd  as  it  would  be  for  a  State  leg- 
islature to  attempt  to  carry  on  the  whole  State  adminis- 
tration by  means  of  standing  committees,  but  the  ab- 
surdity is  of  the  same  sort. 

Confining  itself  mainly  to  legislation,  the  board  should 
do  business  like  a  legislature.  It  should  appoint  a  few 
standing  committees,  say  on  finance,  on  teachers  and  sal- 
aries, on  course  of  study  and  text-books,  on  construc- 
tion, on  judiciary,  and  perhaps  two  or  three  more.  De- 
tails can  be  readily  settled  when  the  main  ideas  have  been 
agreed  upon.  At  the  same  time,  it  will  be  well  to  indi- 
cate the  method  of  procedure. 

For  example,  the  Committee  on  Teachers  and  Salaries 
would,  at  the  proper  time,  report  the  number  of  teachers 
needed  the  ensuing  year,  a  schedule  of  salaries,  and  the 
amount  of  money  required  to  pay  them.  After  being 
printed,  discussed,  and  amended,  if  necessary,  the  board 
would  pass  the  bill,  and  the  money  voted  would  then  be 
duly  entered  on  the  Auditor's  books  as  subject  to  draft 
for  this  purpose.  Similarly,  the  Committee  on  Construc- 
tion would  report  on  repairs,  on  new  buildings,  or  on 
supplies,  and  the  procedure  would  be  the  same  as  before. 
By  this  plan  the  legislative  work  of  the  schools,  as 
well  as  the  executive  work,  would  be  far  better  done  than 
now.  At  present  the  board  spends  a  great  deal  of  time 
in  trifling  acts  of  legislation.  For  the  schoolboard  of  a 
great  city  to  legislatate,  in  terms,  on  the  purchase  of  a 
few  feet  of  hose-pipe,  or  of  a  lawn-mower,  is  no  less  and 
no  more  absurd  than  it  is  to  have  twenty-five  or  thirty 
standing  committees,  many  of  them  charged  with  ex- 
ecutive functions,  simply  in  order  that  as  many  men  may 
have  the  petty  chairmanships. 


272  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

Not  only  would  this  plan  of  organization  secure  far  bet- 
ter results  than  are  now  secured,  but  it  would  save  much 
time  and  annoyance.  A  meeting  a  month,  on  the  average, 
would  be  all-sufficient.  Again,  this  plan  would  render  a 
board  of  considerable  size  not  only  unobjectionable  but 
desirable;  whereas  a  board  that  holds  the  major  execu- 
tive duties  in  its  own  hands  must  be  small  to  be  efficient; 
it  is  hardly  an  exaggeration  to  say,  the  smaller  the  better. 

The  plan  would  give  to  the  office  of  Superintendent  of 
Schools  that  strength  and  dignity  which  its  efficiency 
demands.  As  a  matter  of  course,  the  superintendent 
would  be  clothed,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  with  power 
over  the  course  of  study,  instruction,  and  discipline.  The 
new  Cincinnati  rule  should  be  incorporated  in  the  organi- 
zation of  the  board,  viz. :  The  superintendent  of  the  pub- 
lic schools  shall  appoint  all  the  teachers  of  said  schools, 
by  and  with  the  consent  of  the  board  of  education,  and  the 
superintendent  or  board  may  remove  for  cause.  Possi- 
bly some  would  think  it  wise  to  go  as  far  as  the  bill  drawn 
up  for  the  better  government  of  the  city  of  Cleveland, 
submitted  to  the  Ohio  legislature  at  its  last  session,  which 
did  not  pass,  ' '  The  superintendent  of  schools  shall  have 
power  to  select  his  assistants,  appoint  all  teachers,  pre- 
scribe courses  of  study,  and  select  text-books. "  More- 
over, this  bill  abolished  the  board  of  education  altogether, 
and  gave  the  schools,  as  well  as  all  other  parts  of  the  city 
government,  a  highly  centralized  organization. 

It  is  not  pretended  for  a  moment  that  the  plan  of  ap- 
pointment and  administration  now  sketched  out  rather 
than  fully  elaborated,  if  embodied  in  law,  would  relieve  all 
the  evils  of  the  public  schools.  Nothing  of  the  kind.  But  it 
is  contended  that  they  would  lead  to  substantial  reforms; 
better   men,    better  methods,   and  better  administration 


THE  BUSINESS  SIDE  OF  CITY  SCHOOL  SYSTEMS.   273 

would  be  secured.  No  doubt  the  objection  would  be  made 
that  the  plan  is  undemocratic.  But  the  charge  would  be 
untrue.  The  scheme  proposed  contains  nothing  that  maj- 
not  somewhere  now  be  found  in  actual  operation,  save  only 
the  full  development  of  the  executive  departments,  and 
the  practical  limitation  of  the  board  to  legi-slation.  The 
board,  of  course,  would  choose  the  executive  officers. 
Behind  the  whole  organization  would  stand  the  public,  as 
now,  having  less  immediate  power,  but  far  more  ultimate 
influence.  The  scheme  is  submitted  to  the  Council  in  the 
belief  that,  in  its  essential  features,  it  is  the  best  one  attain- 
able in  the  present  state  of  our  civilization.  It  is  certainly 
in  harmony  with  the  best  current  thinking  concerning 
city  government  in  the  United  States.  Nor  is  argument 
needed  to  show  that  it  would  give  courage  to  teachers,  and 
that  it  would  call  abler  men  than  now  into  the  school  service, 
as  board-members,  instructors,  and  supervisors. 

Note. — I  have  somewhat  changed  my  views  on  one  or  more 
minor  points  made  in  the  foregoing  report,  but  am  more  than  ever 
convinced  that  the  main  argument  is  sound.  Since  1888  the 
subject  has  occupied  increasing  attention.  A  few  references  may 
be  given . 

White,  Dr.  E.  E.:  Report  of  the  Committee  on  City  School 
Systems,  made  to  the  National  Council  of  Education  sX  St.  Paul, 
July,  1890.  The  Proceedings  of  the  Council,  and  of  The  National 
Educational  Association  for  that  year. 

Draper,  President  A.  S.:  Plans  of  Organization  for  School  Pur- 
poses in  Large  Cities.  A  paper  read  at  the  meeting  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Supervision  at  Boston.  Proceedings  of  the  National 
Educational  Association  for  1894. 

The  same:  On  the  Organization  of  City  School  Systems.  Third 
division  of  the  Report  of  the  Committee  of  Fifteen.  Educational 
Review,  March,  1895. 

INIowry,  W.  A.:  Powers  and  Duties  of  School  Super intendcntx. 
Educational  Review,  Januarj-,  1895. 

See  also  Hand-Book  of  the  Board  of  Education  of  the  City  of 
Cleveland,  iSgs,  1896,  for  the  Reorganization  Act  of  that  city,  1892. 


XIV. 

THE  AMERICAN  SCHOOL  SUPERIN- 
TENDENT.' 


HE  American  superintendent  of  schools,  or  of 
public  instruction  as  he  is  sometimes  called,  is 
an  officer  sui  generis.  He  is  native  to  the 
soil.  Perhaps  his  nearest  congener  is  the 
inspector  of  schools  found  in  England  and  France,  Hol- 
land and  Germany.  But  the  duties  of  the  superintendent 
and  of  the  inspector  are  very  different.  He  is,  moreover, 
a  recent  evolution  e\-en  in  this  countr3^  The  first  city  to 
appoint  a  superintendent  that  history  mentions  was  Prov- 
idence, R.  I.,  in  1839.^  Several  towns  in  Ohio  appointed 
superintendents  in  1848;  Boston  and  New  York  did  so  in 
1851;  Cleveland  in  1853,  and  Philadelphia  not  until  1883. 
How  many  such  officers  there  are  now  in  the  United 
States  no  one  can  tell,  but  certainly  many  thousand.  Not 
alone  the  great  cities  with  their  hundreds  of  teachers  and 
tens  of  thousands  of  pupils,  but  even  villages  with  a  half- 
dozen  teachers  and  two  or  three  hundred  pupils  have 
them.  Some  effort  has  been  made  to  distinguish  the 
superintendents  of  the  small  towns  by  the  older  title  of 
principal,  but  it  has  not  been  very  successful.  Still 
further,  the  superintendents  of  the  country  are  as  influen- 
tial as  they  are  numerous.  They  have  organized  .sections 
or  departments  of  the  educational  associations,  as  well  as 
associations  of  their  own,  for  the  discussion  of  the  topics 
that  most  concern  them  as  school  officers,  with  a  view  to 

'  The  Educational  Review.     January,  1894. 
^  Editor's  preface  to  Dr.  Pickard's  School  Supervision. 

274 


THE  AMERICAN  SCHOOL  SUPERINTENDENT.    275 

self-improvement  and  the  formation  of  public  opinion. 
They  have  their  special  classes  in  summer  schools. 
Lectures  on  superintendence  are  given  in  normal  schools, 
and  in  colleges  offering  pedagogical  instruction.  Far 
beyond  any  other  class  of  persons  of  equal  numbers,  the 
superintendents  directly  shape  the  schools  and  public 
education.  And  this,  too,  without  taking  into  account 
the  State  superintendents  who,  w^iile  they  are  only  dwarfs 
compared  wnth  the  European  ministers  of  education, 
sometimes  possess  considerable  power  and  still  oftener 
wield  large  influence.  Says  Dr.  W.  T.  Harris:  "Before 
1 837  Connecticut  surpassed  the  other  States  in  the  educa- 
tion of  its  people.  But  the  mighty  engine  of  supervision 
wielded  by  a  Horace  Mann  immediately  turned  the  scale 
in  favor  of  Massachusetts."^  Still,  notwith.standing  the 
superintendency  is  now  some  fifty  years  old,  and  has 
attained  such  importance,  its  permanent  character  is  1j\- 
no  means  determined.  On  the  contrary  it  is  yet  pla.stic; 
possibly  it  is  even  more  plastic  now  than  it  was  .some 
years  ago.  Certainly  the  most  thoughtful  students  of 
educational  .science  are  not  clear  as  to  what  the  future 
superintendent  will  be,  and  perhaps  not  clear  as  to  what 
he  ought  to  be.  The  time  is  therefore  an  opportune  one 
to  discuss  the  subject,  not  dogmatically  but  tentatively, 
with  a  view  to  casting  light  along  the  future  track  of 
opinion  and  practice.  To  do  this  we  must  first  trace  out 
the  development  of  the  office  as  shown  in  our  educational 
history.  This  can  be  done  all  the  more  readily  because 
all  the  steps,  unlike  some  other  evolutions,  are  open  to 
the  eye  of  daily  ob.serv^ation  in  every  State  of  the  Union. 

Sec.  21,  Chap.  XLIV,  of  the  School  Laws  of  Mas.sachu- 
setts  declares:    "Every  town  shall,  at  its  annual  meeting, 
»  Editor's  preface  to  School  Supervision,  by  Dr.  J.  L.  Pickard. 


276  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

or  at  a  meeting  appointed  and  notified  by  the  selectmen  for 
the  purpose  and  held  in  the  same  month  in  which  the  annual 
meeting  occurs,  choose  by  written  ballots  a  school  com- 
mittee, which  shall  have  the  general  charge  and  superin- 
tendence of  all  the  public  schools  in  the  town. ' '  Many 
other  powers  are  given  to  this  committee,  as  to  contract 
with  teachers,  choo.se  text-books,  establish  courses  of 
study,  dispense  discipline,  and  examine  teachers;  but  the 
emphatic  point  now  is  that  it  has  general  charge  and 
superintendence  of  all  the  public  schools  in  its  jurisdiction. 
This  provision  is  not  peculiar  to  Massachusetts;  it  is 
found  in  substance  in  iState  school  laws  generally,  and  is 
plainly  necessary  if  the  committees  and  the  schools  are  to 
be  efficient.  This  power  to  supervise  the  school  or  schools, 
lodged  by  law  in  the  town  committee  or  the  district  board, 
is  the  primal  cell  from  which  the  school  superintendency 
has  been  evolved.  We  are  now  to  follow  the  steps  by 
which  it  has  been  produced.  First,  however,  it  is  impor- 
tant to  observ^e  that  in  the  majority  of  towns  and  districts 
the  countr}'  over  this  primitive  state  of  things  still  exists. 
Perhaps  one-half  the  schools  are  still  supervised,  so  far  as 
they  are  supervised  at  all,  by  committees  or  boards.  These 
schools  and  boards  we  may  dismiss  at  once,  because  they 
do  not  concern  our  special  subject. 

It  is  probable  that  board  supervision  of  schools  fifty 
or  sixty  years  ago  was  about  what  it  is  to-day.  Some- 
times it  was  better  and  sometimes  worse,  as  determined  by 
the  ability  of  the  members  of  the  board,  their  interest  in 
education,  their  employments,  and  the  traditions  of  the 
town  or  district;  but,  on  the  whole,  it  was  very  unsatis- 
factory, more  nominal  than  real,  and  particularly  so  when 
the  schools  began  to  take  on  a  higher  form  of  organiza- 
tion. As  the  schools  of  cities  and  towns  increased  in  size 
and  complexity,  things  became  worse   instead  of  better. 


THE    AMERICAN    SCHOOL    SUPERINTENDENT.        277 

There  was  no  authority  adequate  to  shape  and  administer 
the  new  organization.  There  was  sad  lack  of  unit}'  and 
intelligent  direction.  Plainly,  something  must  be  done. 
There  now  ensued  a  differentiation ;  a  short  step  was  taken 
in  the  direction  of  sj'stem. 

Long  before  this  time  the  principal,  or  ma.ster,  had 
appeared;  a  head-teacher,  who  not  only  taught  the  highest 
class  of  pupils,  but  who  also  had  general  oversight 
of  the  building  or  house  where  a  group  of  schools  and 
teachers  had  been  brought  together.  Progressively,  the 
board  had  magnified  the  office  of  the  principal,  often 
making  him  a  de  facto  supervisor  of  his  house  in  respect 
to  various  subjects.  Naturally,  the  new  needs  of  the 
schools  were  first  met,  in  part,  by  laying  new  duties  upon 
him.  He  became  a  sort  of  rudimentary  superintendent. 
The  board  had  also  distributed  many  of  its  functions 
among  a  number  of  committees,  as  the  committees  on 
teachers,  on  buildings,  on  course  of  study,  etc. ;  said  com- 
mittees being  charged  with  the  general  oversight  and 
superintendence  of  the  schools,  subject  to  the  controlling 
authority  of  the  board.  This  state  of  things  existed  in 
Philadelphia  until  1883,  only  the  city  was  divided  into 
many  districts  and  many  boards,  and  it  still  exists,  with  the 
same  amendment,  in  Hartford,  Conn.  But  .sometimes  the 
board  went  farther.  For  example,  the  Cleveland  Board 
for  many  years  constituted  its  secretary  acting  .school 
manager,  charging  him  to  attend  personally  to  all  the 
ordinary  affairs  of  the  .schools,  under  the  direction  of 
the  board,  and  paying  him  a  small  .salary  for  his  .services. ' 
One  of  the.se  managers  was  a  lawyer  and  another  a  mer- 
chant, both  in  active  business.  Presumably  they  paid 
more  attention  to  the  business  side  than  to  the  educational 

1  Early  History  of  Cleveland  Public  Schools,  by  Andrew  Freese, 
p.  25. 


278  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

side  of  the  schools;  still  they  did  not  wholly  overlook  the 
latter,  as  admirable  extracts  from  the  reports  still  extant 
of  one  of  them  show.  Besides,  visiting  committees  of 
citizens  were  appointed  by  the  Iward  in  the  various  school- 
districts,  whose  views  and  recommendations  often  had 
value  and  exercised  no  small  influence.  All  these  devices, 
including  the  conferring  of  new  authority  upon  the  princi- 
pal, were  open  confessions  that  the  board  could  not  ade- 
quately discharge  its  legal  duty  of  supervision,  and  that 
a  new  step  in  the  line  of  development  was  inevitable.  This 
step  produced  the  superintendent. 

All  this  time  public  education  was  increasing  in  com- 
plexity. Cities  were  growing,  and  increasing  interest  in 
education  brought  a  relatively  larger  number  of  children 
to  the  school-houses.  In  a  word,  the  school  organization 
was  expanding  in  every  direction.  Good  schools  were 
found  in  cities  side  by  side  with  poor  ones,  owing  to  the 
fact  that  they  had  different  principals  and  boards.  Tlie 
greatest  confusion  and  inequality  prevailed  in  cities  where 
the  other  parts  of  the  public  service  were  well  unified;  the 
resulting  evils  became  intolerable,  and  so  .school  organiza- 
tion became  absolutely  necessary.  These  causes  compelled 
the  organization  of  the  Cincinnati  schools  in  18i!9,  the 
Columbus  schools  in  1845,  and  the  Cleveland  schools  in 
1 848.  New  York  had  no  school  board  until  1842,  and 
complete  organization  was  not  achieved  until  1851.  And 
naturally — nay,  inevitably— the  unification  or  consolida- 
tion of  a  group  of  city  school  di.stricts,  or  the  appearance  of 
a  school  system,  compelled  the  creation  of  the  superin- 
tendency  and  the  choice  of  a  superintendent.  His 
appearance  at  the  educational  headquarters  marked  the 
triumph  of  order  and  organization  over  division  and  chaos. 
He  was  the  pledge  of  unity  and  uniform  admini.stration 
in  the  .schools,  and  he  stands  for  those  ideas  to-dav. 


THE  AMERICAN  SCHOOL  SUPERIXTENDENT. 


279 


Perhaps  it  is  commonly  supposed  that  the  superinten- 
dency  is  an  evolution  from  the  teaching  function.  If  so, 
there  could  not  be  a  greater  mistake.  The  superintendent 
came  forth  from  the  school  committee  or  board,  as  the 
history  plainly  shows.  As  a  person,  he  may  have  been 
taken  from  the  teachers,  and  commonly  he  was,  though  n(»l 
always;  but  his  official  duties  originated  in  the  delegation 
to  him  of  powers  every  one  of  which  still  belong  to 
schoolboards  and  that  they  often  exercise.  Nay, 
more;  in  most  cases  where  a  superintendent  is  employed, 
the  board  could  dispense  with  him  and  a.ssume,  or  resume, 
the  general  charge  and  superintendence  of  the  schools 
itself,  if  it  saw  fit.  It  is  important  to  remember  these 
facts.  To  quote  Superintendent  Stockwell,  of  Rhode 
Island:  "It  is  extremely  unfortunate  for  the  welfare  of 
our  schools  that,  in  the  development  in  our  State  of  the 
work  and  status  of  the  superintendent  of  schools,  the 
idea  should  have  been  allowed  to  gain  a  foothold  that  the 
office  was  in  any  way  independent  of  the  school  committee, 
or  that  the  occupant  thereof  was  responsible  to  any  other 
than  the  committee,  for  the  whole  theory  of  the  office  and 
of  its  duties  has  ever  been  to  make  it  the  medium  of  the 
committee's  actions,  to  give  opportunity  for  so  unifying 
and  simplif3'ing  the  work  of  the  committee,  as  to  make  it 
more  effective  in  every  respect,  and  thus  to  afford  a  con- 
stant and  suitable  medium  for  the  expression  of  their 
will.'" 

It  is  a  point  well  worthy  of  notice  that,  in  the  history 
of  school  organization,  the  high  school  has  been  an  im- 
portant factor.  The  single  district  of  a  city  could  main- 
tain its  separate  system  of  elementary  schools,  but  it  could 
not  maintain  its  separate  high  school,  at  least  not  without 

»  Quoted  in  the  Report  of  the  National  Commissioner  0/  Educa- 
tion, 1886-87,  p.  175. 


28o  STUDIES    IN    EDLXATION. 

great  cost  and  much  inefficiency.  Hence  the  demand  for 
the  more  advanced  grade  of  instruction  compelled  the 
creation  of  city  high  schools.  Thus,  Philadelphia  had 
cit}^  high  schools  for  many  years  side  by  side  with  district 
elementary  schools;  and  such  is  still  the  case  in  Hartford. 
It  cannot  be  doubted  that  in  the  field  of  popular  education 
the  high  school  has  been  a  unifj'ing  agent  of  great  power 
and  usefulness. 

The  powers  and  duties  discharged  by  superintendents 
in  different  cities  and  towns  are  numerous  indeed.  When 
Dr.  J.  G.  Fitch  returned  home  from  his  visit  to  the  United 
States  a  few  years  ago,  he  reported  that  the  chief  execu- 
tive officer  and  ad\'iser  of  the  local  educational  authority 
occupies  a  position  wholly  unlike  that  of  any  scholastic 
officer  found  in  any  country  of  Europe.  Within  his 
State,  county,  or  city,  he  said,  the  superintendent  com- 
bines in  himself  the  characters  of  a  minister  of  public 
in.struction,  an  inspector  of  schools,  a  licenser  of  teachers, 
and  a  professor  of  pedagogy.  Under  the  sanction  of  his 
board  or  committee  he  draws  up  regulations  for  the  work 
of  the  various  classes  of  schools,  and  often  appends  notes 
and  comments  prescribing  the  method  in  which  each  sub- 
ject shall  be  taught.  With  his  staff  of  inspectors  he  con- 
ducts examinations  for  determining  promotions  of  scholars 
from  grade  to  grade.  He  sets  questions,  examines  can- 
didates for  the  office  of  teacher  in  his  district,  and  awards 
to  them  diplomas  or  certificates.  He  holds  institutes, 
and  instructs  those  teachers  who  have  not  been  previously 
trained  in  the  work  of  their  s]:)ecial  classes.  He  also  con- 
ducts conferences  of  the  older  teachers,  and  gives  lectures 
to  them  on  the  history  and  philosophy  of  education.  He 
is  assisted  by  a  staff  of  inspectors  and  supervisors  who 
visit  schools  under  his  direction  and  share  witli  him  the 


THE    AMERICAN    SCHOOL    SUPERINTENDENT.        28 1 

duty  of  examining  children  for  promotion.'  Still  this 
catalogue  is  not  exhaustive.  Sometimes  the  superinten- 
dent is  the  architect,  or  consulting-architect,  of  his  board, 
its  financial  adviser,  its  superintendent  of  buildings  and 
repairs,  its  clerk,  and  what  not. 

It  is  important  to  observe  that  few  of  the  multiform 
duties  of  the  superintendent  are  defined  by  law.  Consider- 
ing his  prominence  in  public  education,  it  must  be  con- 
fessed that  his  legal  status  is  ill-defined  and  feeble.  Such 
recognition  as  he  has  is  rather  indirect  than  direct.  The 
Massachusetts  I,aw,  Section  43,  provides:  "A  city  by 
ordinance,  and  a  town  by  vote,  may  require  the  school 
committee  annually  to  appoint  a  superintendent,  who, 
under  the  direction  and  control  of  said  conmiittee,  shall 
have  the  care  and  supervision  of  the  public  schools;  or 
the  school  committee  of  any  city  without  such  ordinance 
may  appoint  a  superintendent  by  a  majority  vote  of  the 
whole  board. ' '  In  the  same  State  two  or  more  towns  may , 
by  a  vote  of  each,  form  a  district  for  the  purpose  of  employ- 
ing a  superintendent  of  public  schools,  who  shall  perform 
in  each  town  the  duties  prescribed  by  law.  These  powers 
are  permissive,  not  mandatory;  and,  so  far  as  I  have 
observed,  this  is  the  universal  tenor  of  State  school  laws 
in  relation  to  the  subject.  The  Connecticut  law  directs 
the  board  to  assign  the  duty  of  visiting  the  schools  of  the 
town  to  one  or  more  of  its  members,  wdio  shall  be  called 
the  acting  school  visitor  or  visitors:  and  then  gives  it  the 
power  to  appoint  a  person  not  of  its  own  number  to  do 
the  same  work.  In  Ohio,  with  two  exceptions  soon  to 
be  mentioned,  the  office  is  wholly  in  the  hands  of  the 
local  board.  The  general  provision  of  law  is,  that  the 
l)oard  of  any  district  shall  have  full  power,  within  certain 
limitations,  to  appoint  a  superintendent  and  assistant 
1  Notes  on  American  Schools  and  Training  Colleges,  pp  60-61. 


282  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

superintendents  of  schools,  as  well  as  teachers.  In 
Michigan  the  recognition  of  the  superintendent  is  still 
more  feeble;  the  law  does  not  even  mention  him.  In 
this  State,  however,  the  city  schools  are  generally 
organized  under  special  charters.  It  would  be  strange 
indeed  if  the  law  should  define  very  carefully  the  duties 
of  an  office  whose  very  existence  depends  upon  the  local 
school  authority.  As  a  matter  of  necessity,  the  superin- 
tendent's duties  are  defined  in  the  rules  and  regulations 
of  the  board  creating  his  office  and  electing  him.  His 
status  is  determined  by  the  manual,  and  not  by  the  sta- 
tute-book. There  can,  I  think,  be  little  doubt  that  the 
superintendent  of  the  future  will  have  a  better  defined 
legal  status  than  the  superintendent  of  the  present.  And 
yet,  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  details  must  always  be  left 
to  the  local  authorities.  In  fact,  the  powers  before  enu- 
merated do  not  all  belong  to  any  one  superintendent; 
.special  conditions  have  given  the  office  special  forms,  and 
so  they  will  continue  to  do.  It  would  be  difficult  to 
draw  up  a  list  of  powers  that  all  superintendents  do  exer- 
cise or  .should  exerci.se. 

It  can  hardly  be  supposed  that  the  .superintendent  of 
the  future  will  perform  as  many  duties  as  the  super- 
intendent of  the  past  has  performed,  or  as  the  superin- 
tendent of  the  present  performs.  The  very  law  that 
compelled  the  board  of  a  half  century  ago  to  divide 
the  work  —  the  law  of  specialization — will  .sooner  or 
later  compel  a  division  of  the  duties  that  are  now  united 
in  the  .superintendent's  office-  In  the  smaller  cities 
especially  the  office  has  become  decidedly  top-heavy. 
Many  superintendents  are  too  much  burdened,  particu- 
larly with  details,  to  do  the  l)est  work.  Relief  may  be 
sought,  of  course,  in  the  multiplication  of  assistants;  but 


THE    AMERICAN    SCHOOL    SUPERINTENDENT.        2S3 

the  office  is  too  much  expanded  for  strength  and  efficiencj-. 
And  it  is  when  we  come  to  the  question,  "What  shall  the 
new  division  be?"  that  the  practical  topic  of  this  paper  is 
brought  most  directly  before  our  minds. 

It  is  clear  at  a  glance  that  the  powers  and  functions  of 
the  superintendent  are  divisible  into  the  two  categories  of 
pedagogy  and  business.  Perhaps  the  work  uf  no  other 
public  officer  is  more  evenly  divided  between  professional 
and  business  affairs.  Leaving  out  of  account  the  zeros  or 
nobodies,  there  are  now,  and  for  some  time  have  been, 
two  classes  of  superintendents;  the  line  of  division,  which 
is  by  no  means  a  hard-and-fast  one,  running  between 
professional  duties  and  business  duties.  Superintendents 
can  be  named  who  have  won  their  reputation  in  the  one 
field  or  in  the  other.  Some  superintendents  are  men  of 
the  office,  others  of  the  schoolroom  and  the  lecture  hall. 
Pedagogy  is  pretty  sure  to  subordinate  business  adminis- 
tration, or  vice  versa. 

Now  it  seems  clear  that  •  this  line  will  become  more 
clearl)'  marked  as  time  goes  on.  As  cities  grow  in  size; 
as  school  .systems  become  unwieldy;  as  the  popular  de- 
mand for  more  man  and  woman  and  less  machinery 
increases,  the  t}-pical  superintendent  must  be  more  of  one 
thing  or  the  other.  He  must  be  more  of  a  .school  man  or 
more  of  a  business  man.     Which  shall  it  be  ? 

First,  I  see  no  reason  to  think  that  the  future  move- 
ment will  be  the  same  in  all  places.  Quite  the  contrary. 
Special  conjunctions  of  circumstances  will  sometimes  turn 
the  development  in  one  direction  and  .sometimes  in  the 
other. 

Secondly,  strong  arguments  can  be  urged  to  show  that 
the  general  direction  will  be  toward  the  office  and  not 
toward  the  .schools.  The  practical,  or  business,  a.spect  of 
American  life  in  almost  all  departments  is  very  pronounced. 


284  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

College  presidents  are  quite  a  different  class  of  men  now 
from  what  they  were  a  half  century  ago.  In  the  great 
colleges,  at  least,  they  are  coming  to  stand  more  for  ad- 
ministration, and  less  for  scholarship,  pedagogical  attain- 
ments, and  teaching.  In  all  cities,  and  most  of  all  in 
large  ones,  the  tendency  toward  machinery  and  bureau- 
cracy in  all  kinds  of  work  is  strong.  It  is  hard  for  the 
individual  to  assert  his  personal  force.  The  superinten- 
dent's temptation  to  busy  himself  with  manipulation  is 
great.  Nor  can  it  be  denied  that  there  is  an  abundance 
of  such  work  to  be  done.  Already  the  schools  of  some 
cities  have  severely  suffered  in  consequence  of  this  ten- 
dency. Competent  judges  will  hardly  deny  that  the 
larger  the  system  the  less  the  personal  force  of  the  super- 
intendent is  likely  to  be  felt.  In  a  city  of  moderate  size  a 
man  of  common  mould  may  strongly  influence  his  teachers 
and  through  them  his  pupils;  but  what  can  such  a  man 
do  as  the  head  of  a  great  city  system  ?  The  position  calls 
for  a  man  of  gigantic  mental  and  moral  force.  It  is  my 
opinion,  and  one  not  hastil}' formed,  that  the  best  superin- 
tendence is  now  found  in  the  smaller  cities.  There,  as  I 
believe,  the  superintendent  who  has  ideas  and  personal 
force  finds  his  largest  opportunity.  I  may  add  that  few 
spectacles  are  more  pitiful  than  that  of  a  little  man  at  the 
head  of  one  of  the  great  school  systems  of  the  country. 
He  is  about  as  competent  to  vitalize  and  energize  the 
schools  as  a  pocket  dynamo  is  to  drive  a  city  railroad. 

These  considerations  impel  me  to  the  conclusion  that  in 
the  great  cities  the  superintendent  will,  as  a  rule,  tend  to 
machinery  and  administration;  that  he  will  become  even 
more  an  office  man  than  he  now  is,  and  that  he  will  be 
less  known  in  the  forum  of  educational  thought  than  he 
is  at  present.  I  am  making  no  onslaught  upon  the  gentle- 
men who  now  occupy  these  positions.     Undoubtedly  some 


THE    AMERICAN    SCHOOL    SUPERINTENDENT.        285 

of  them  are  educational  men  and  do  educational  work; 
but  as  a  class  they  have  not  proved  themselves  able  to 
rise  superior  to  their  limitations.  I  cannot  resist  the 
impression  that  the  superintendents  of  a  dozen  large  cities 
that  can  be  named  exercise  much  less  direct  educational 
influence  than  did  their  predecessors  thirty  years  ago.  It 
is  true  that  some  method  of  dividing  labor  and  of  organ- 
izing forces  may  be  invented  that  will  turn  the  stream  of 
movement  the  other  way;  but  such  does  not  appear  to  me 
to  be  the  probability. 

We  now  come  to  cities  of  less  size  where  the  best  super- 
vision is  now  found,  and  where  the  conditions  for  the 
development  of  the  superintend ency  are  most  favorable. 
It  seems  probable  that  here  the  general  movement  will  be 
along  the  other  line  of  direction.  The  existing  conditions 
make  it  possible;  various  causes  conspire  to  bring  about 
that  result.  It  is  a  dictate  of  the  highe.st  wisdom.  The 
good  of  the  schools  demands  professional  supervision; 
while  it  is  plainly  bad  economy  to  employ  a  trained 
educational  expert  in  such  inferior  capacities  as  clerical 
duties  and  supervising  schoolhouse  construction  and  re- 
pairs. Accordingly,  the  school  supervision  of  many  towns 
and  cities  will  tend  to  become  more  professional  than  it 
has  ever  been.  It  cannot  be  denied  or  doubted  that 
hitherto  our  superintendence  has  partaken  somewhat  of 
the  nondescript  character  of  the  teaching  body  itself 
But  to  be  more  definite:  What  duties  will  the  super- 
intendent of  the  future  perform?  The  present  answer 
will  be  limited  to  considering  rather  briefly  his  relations 
to  the  schools  in  three  or  four  different  aspects. 

1.  The  sober  common  sense  of  the  people,  extending 
over  a  considerable  period  of  time,  may  be  a  good  general 
guide  to  what  should  be  taught  in  the  schools,  since  the 
schools   must   be  kept    in   touch    with   the   people;    but 


286  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION, 

there  are  many  questions  as  to  choice  of  studies,  and 
adjusting  the  studies  to  one  another  in  the  course,  that 
they  can  never  settle.  The  order  in  which  the  several 
studies  shall  appear,  the  amount  of  work  that  shall 
be  done  in  each  study,  and  even  the  choice  of  studies 
can  never  be  settled  by  a  plebiscite.  Nor  can  the  average 
board  of  education,  although  its  voice  be  regarded  as 
expressing  in  a  more  clarified  form  the  popular  mind  and 
will,  intelligently  settle  these  questions.  Especially  are 
both  the  plebiscite  and  the  vote  of  the  board  utterly  help- 
less when  parallel  courses  are  to  be  adjusted  in  high 
schools.  The  course  of  study  calls  for  expert  knowledge 
and  experience,  and  this  call  the  superintendent  must 
meet.  Questions  relating  to  studies  promise  to  be  more 
troublesome  in  the  future  than  in  the  past;  the  pressure 
upon  the  course  is  all  the  while  increasing;  and  we  may 
fairly  expect  therefore  that  the  superintendent  will  be  more 
prominent  in  settling  these  questions  than  he  has  been. 

2.  Every  argument  that  can  be  adduced  showing  that 
the  superintendent,  guided  by  the  popular  intelligence 
and  advised  by  his  board  and  corps  of  teachers,  should 
make  the  course  of  study,  tends  with  equal  force  to  show 
that,  with  the  same  limitations,  he  should  also  choose  the 
text-books:  and  with  even  greater  force,  because  the  text- 
books are  the  course  in  a  very  much  more  definite  and 
practical  sense  than  the  course  so-called  itself.  The 
course  is  but  a  vague  outline;  the  books  are  minute  and 
definite. 

But  there  is  good  reason  why  the  superintendent  does  not 
now  exercise  the  same  influence  over  books  that  he  exer- 
cises over  the  course  of  study.  There  is  "money"  in  the 
books  and  not  in  the  course;  and  wherever  there  is  money 
disturbing  influences  manifest  themselves.  While  the 
publishing  interest,   through  its  intelligence  and  enter- 


THE    AMERICAN    SCHOOL    SUPERINTENDENT.        2.S7 

prise,  has  done  much  good  it  has  also  done  some  harm. 
Sometimes  it  thrusts  itself  between  the  superintendent 
and  his  board,  the  newspapers,  or  the  public.  Sometimes 
it  enters  the  political  field  to  influence  elections.  Some- 
times it  corrupts  the  moral  sense  of  teachers  and  superin- 
tendents through  its  largesses  of  various  kinds.  Enough 
has  been  said  to  suggest  that  the  control  of  the  superin- 
tendent of  the  future  over  books  will  not  be  as  large  as 
his  control  over  studies;  also  to  suggest  why  it  will  not 
be  wise  for  him  to  seek  the  same  control  in  the  one  sphere 
that  will  be  cheerfully  accorded  to  him  in  the  other — 
unless  he  can  in  some  way  be  protected  against  foreign 
interference. 

3.  Superintendents  of  different  cities  now  stand  to  the 
appointment  of  teachers  in  very  different  relations-  The 
superintendents  of  Cincinnati  and  Cleveland  nominate  all 
teachers,  and  the  board  simply  confirms  or  rejects  their 
nominees.  The  Superintendent  of  Brooklyn,  on  the 
other  hand,  has  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the  appoint- 
ment of  teachers.  His  only  check  is,  that  he  examines 
and  certificates  them.  Commonly,  however,  the  superin- 
tendent and  the  committee  on  teachers  act  together  in 
making  nominations  to  the  board,  the  first  rather  taking 
the  initiative.  The  superintendent  ought  in  reason,  if  a 
fit  man  for  his  place,  to  have  large  control  of  the  teaching 
force.  Far  more  than  anyone  else,  the  public  hold  him 
responsible  for  the  work  done  in  the  schools,  and  it  is 
surely  a  hardship  to  deny  him  adequate  power.  At  the 
same  time  there  are  excellent  reasons  why  his  power  is 
more  limited,  and  is  likely  to  be  more  limited,  here  than 
in  some  other  matters.  Personal  elements  play  a  con- 
siderable part  in  appointments.  Cincinnati  and  Cleveland 
have  been  referred  to.  The  Cincinnati  law  gives  the 
superintendent  large  power,  and  also  exposes  him  to  a 


25b  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

danger  that  he  should  not  be  called  upon  to  confront 
unless  he  can  in  some  wa}"  be  shielded  against  it.  The 
Cleveland  law  gives  the  superintendent  the  same  power, 
and  also  affords  him  immediate  protection,  since  it  makes 
good  behavior  his  tenure  of  office.  This  law  creates  the 
office  of  superintendent  and  gives  the  incumbent  a  firm 
legal  status,  while  the  Cincinnati  law  merely  assumes 
that  such  an  office  exists.  Both  laws,  and  particularly 
that  of  Cleveland,  have  excited  no  little  interest  among 
educators.  The  rule  or  method  of  appointing  teachers  is 
not  of  great  importance,  provided  always  that  the  superin- 
tendent shall  exercise  a  due  and  reasonable  influence. 

4.  Finally,  we  ma}'  expect  to  see  the  superintendent  of 
the  future  more  prominent  in  the  field  of  instruction  than 
the  superintendent  of  the  past  has  been.  I  do  not  mean 
that  he  himself  will  teach  more  directly,  but  that  he  will 
teach  more  indirectly.  Here  there  is  little  to  interfere 
with  him;  here  the  need  of  professional  help  on  the  part 
of  teachers,  especially  the  young  and  inexperienced, 
is  very  great;  here  the  progress  of  educational  science 
opens  up  increasing  demands,  and  here,  as  I  believe,  is 
the  field  in  which  he  will  find  his  greatest  opportunity — 
to  instruct,  inspire,  and  lead  his  teachers.  Just  what 
this  instruction  and  leadership  should  be,  space  cannot  be 
taken  to  discuss,  but  only  to  say  that  it  must  be  profes- 
sional. 

The  bearing  of  all  this  upon  the  superintendent's  abil- 
ities and  preparation  is  obvious.  He  must  have  the 
requisite  talents  for  getting  on  with  people,  but  he  need 
not  be  a  "manager,"  a  "manipulator,"  or  a  "  school  poli- 
tician." But  there  will  be  an  imperative  demand  for 
more  thorough  education,  for  wider  culture,  and  especially 
for  fuller  instruction,  on  his  part,  in  the  science,  the  art, 
and  the  hi.story  of  education. 


XV. 

THE    EDUCATIONAL     FUNCTION     OF 
THE   MODERN   STATE.^ 


JITHOUT  a  doubt  the  most  impressive  politi- 
cal   fact   of  the    last    hundred    years   is   the 
enormous  advance  made  by  the  forms  and  the 
spirit   of  democracy  over   the   larger  part  of 
the  civilized  world. 

Sir  James  Stephen,  of  the  English  Bench,  says  two 
different  views  may  be  taken  of  the  relation  between 
rulers  and  their  subjects.  According  to  one  view,  "  the 
ruler  is  regarded  as  the  superior  of  the  subject,  as  being  by 
the  nature  of  his  position  presumably  wise  and  good,  the 
rightful  ruler  and  guide  of  the  whole  population." 
According  to  the  other  view,  ' '  the  ruler  is  regarded  as 
the  agent  and  seri^ant,  and  the  subject  as  the  wise  and 
good  master,  who  is  obliged  to  delegate  his  power  to  the 
so-called  ruler  because,  being 'a  multitude,  he  cannot  use 
it  himself. ' '  Which  one  of  these  two  theories  is  the  true 
theory,  does  not  now  concern  us;  but  we  are  concerned 
to  know  the  fact  that,  since  1775,  with  temporary  revul- 
sions towards  the  older  view,  the  newer  one  has  been 
going  on  conquering  and  to  conquer.  Sir  Henry  Sumner 
Maine,  commenting  in  1885  upon  the  words  of  Sir  James 
Stephen,  told  but  the  truth  when  he  said  :  ' '  Russia  and 
Turkey  are  the  only  European  States  which  completely 
reject  the  theory  that  governments  hold  their  powers  by 

'An  address  delivered  at  Elgin,  Illinois,  before  the  Northern 
Illinois  Teachers'  Association,  April,  1891. 

289 


290  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

delegation  from  the  community,  the  word  '  conmiiinity  ' 
being  somewhat  vaguely  understood,  but  tending  more 
and  more  to  mean  at  least  the  whole  of  the  males  of  full 
age  living  within  certain  territorial  limits.  This  theory, 
which  is  known  on  the  Continent  as  the  theory  of  national 
sovereignty,  has  been  fully  accepted  in  France,  Italy, 
Spain,  Portugal,  Holland,  Belgium,  Greece,  and  the 
Scandinavian  States.  In  Germany  it  has  been  repeatedly 
repudiated  by  the  Emperor  and  his  powerful  Minister, 
but  it  is  to  a  very  great  extent  acted  upon."  England, 
he  says,  stands  by  herself.  While  the  law  and  the  con- 
stitution speak  the  old  view  concerning  the  relation  of 
ruler  and  ruled,  "  there  is  no  country  in  which  the  newer 
view  of  government  is  more  thoroughly  applied  to  prac- 
tice."^ The  Queen  of  England  reigns,  but  she  does  not 
rule.  On  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  the  change  is  still  more 
complete.  With  the  downfall  of  constitutional  monarchy 
in  Brazil,  the  whole  American  Continent,  except  the 
British  Possessions,  has  become  republican  in  form  as  it 
\\  as  before  demxocratic  in  spirit  ;  while  the  British  Posses- 
sions are  democratic  in  spirit  and  all  but  republican  in 
form. 

Remembering  that  man  is  nowhere  more  conservative 
than  in  religion,  we  cannot  say  that  the  change  is  less 
marked  in  Church  than  in  State.  The  State  churches 
have  not  been  dis-established,  nor  have  they  changed 
their  forms;  but  beneath  the  ancient  theological  formulae 
and  ecclesiastical  organizations,  great  changes  of  faith 
and  feeling  have  been  occurring.  The  bishops  still  hold 
their  chairs,  but  their  tone  is  very  different  from  the  tone 
that  they  held  in  the  Middle  Ages.  Moreover,  the  type 
of  bishop  has  materially  changed.  Religious  faith  and 
obedience  are  .shifting  from  the  basis  of  dogma  and 
^Popular  Government,  pp.  7,  8. 


EDUCATIONAL  FUNCTION  OF  THE  MODERN  STATE.    29 1 

authority  to  a  basis  of  visible  adaptation  to  the  needs  of 
individual  life  and  social  well-being.  Undeniably,  the 
Church  as  well  as  the  State  is  becoming  democratized. 

But  perhaps  democracy  has  won  its  greatest  triumphs 
in  education.  At  least,  we  cannot  fail  to  see  them,  no 
matter  under  what  aspect  we  view  the  subject. 

First,  the  new  spirit  is  seen  in  studies  and  school  cicrric- 
ula.  The  polic}'  of  the  kingdom  of  education  a  century 
ago  was  very  narrow  and  exclusive.  The  classics,  math- 
ematics, some  philosophy,  natural  and  mental,  and  a  little 
rhetoric,  constituted  the  uniform  course  of  study  in  all 
schools  of  liberal  learning.  The  exclusiveness  of  the  old 
curriculum,  and  the  retardation  of  modern  studies,  were 
largely  due  to  the  contemptuous  feeling  for  everything 
not  branded  "  classical,"  which  came  in  with  the  revival 
of  letters  and  was  such  a  pronounced  feature  of  human- 
ism. But  the  power  of  the  old  tradition  has  been  broken; 
the  new  studies  jostle  the  old  ones;  the  humanities,  old 
and  new,  mathematics,  science,  history,  philosophy,  and 
literature  compete  for  students  on  equal  terms.  Numer- 
ous new  airricula  have  been  established;  electives  have 
received  full  recognition;  and  the  narrow  idea  that 
' '  course  of  study  ' '  once  conveyed  has  been  set  aside. 
The  same  thing  is  seen  in  the  extraordinary  differentia- 
tion of  the  school.  Once  there  was  but  a  single  type  ; 
now  there  are  many  types,  to  say  nothing  of  the  variety 
of  work  that  is  done  in  schools  of  the  same  name. 

The  democratic  spirit  has  powerfully  affected  the 
teaching  force.  Women,  for  example,  were  not  employed 
as  teachers  in  antiquity.  It  was  the  same  way  in  the 
Middle  Ages.  The  exceptions  in  either  period,  as  that  of 
Hypatia  at  Alexandria,  and  the  young  ladies  who 
sometimes   read   their    fathers'    lectures   to  students   at 


292  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

Bologna,  but  prove  the  rule.  Now  all  this  is  changed. 
Ninety  per  centum  of  the  public  school  teachers  of  Mass- 
achusetts are  women,  and  68  per  centum  of  those  of 
Illinois.  In  the  whole  country  the  ratio  is  63  women  to 
37  men,  but  in  the  cities  it  is  more  than  90  women  to  fewer 
than  10  men.  In  England  the  ratio  is  69  to  31.  Women 
art  also  asking  and  receiving  admittance  to  the  ranks  of 
higher  instruction.  Again,  at  the  opening  of  the  modern 
era  the  clergy  monopolized  the  teaching  function.  Edu- 
cation was  ecclesiastical  in  a  triple  sense;  in  matter  taught, 
in  the  atmosphere  and  ideals  of  the  school,  and  in  teachers. 
The  demolition  of  these  barriers,  or  the  laicizing  of 
the  schools,  is  one  of  the  striking  facts  of  educational 
histor3\ 

But  it  is  in  the  number  and  character  of  pupils  that  the 
most  stupendous  change  is  seen.  Once,  half  of  the 
human  race  was  summarily  ruled  out  with  the  sweeping 
assertion  that  they  did  not  need  education  and  could  not 
in  fact  receive  it.  At  Athens  the  only  highly  educated 
women  were  the  heterae;  at  Rome  woman's  position 
was  better  than  in  Greece,  but  woman  has  had  to  await 
the  nineteenth  centurj'  for  her  full  educational  enfran- 
chisement. It  has  come  at  last.  In  1888  as  many  as 
29.3  per  cent,  of  all  the  students  pursuing  education  in 
the  universities  and  colleges  of  the  United  States  were 
women.  In  the  elementary  and  secondary  schools,  girls, 
on  the  whole,  considerably  outnumber  boys.  In  European 
countries  the  showing  is  not  so  favorable,  but  in  those 
countries  the  old  spell  is  completely  broken.  I  can  see 
no  good  reason  why,  in  the  United  States,  the  women 
studying  in  colleges  should  not  in  another  generation 
equal  the  men. 

But  still  more,  antiquity  made  no  attempt  to  teach  the 
major  part  of  the  males.     The  Oriental  nations  doomed 


EDUCATIONAL  FUNCTION  OF  THE  MODERN  STATE.    293 

the  masses  of  their  population  to  an  irremediable  ignor- 
ance and  bondage.  The  classic  civilizations  rested  upon 
an  enormous  basework  of  slavery.  Education  was  little 
more  than  a  class  privilege  in  Athens.  When  Pericles 
said  thought  was  the  distinguishing  feature  of  the  Athe- 
nians, he  meant  of  the  few  thousands  who  swarmed  around 
the  bema  to  hear  his  speeches  and  into  the  agora  to  vote 
on  public  questions.  The  old  writers  are  not  wanting 
in  humane  and  liberal  sentiments;  very  elevated  views  of 
virtue,  character,  and  enlightenment  are  found  in  the  great 
ethical  writers  of  antiquity;  but  the  pages  of  Plato  and 
Aristotle  are  heavy  with  the  iteration  of  the  essential 
baseness  of  the  majority  of  mankind.  The  constant 
assumption  is,  that  any  attempt  to  educate  and  lift  up  this 
mass  of  ignorance  and  depravit}^  would  be  hopeless  and 
foolish, — as  indeed  it  was  until  the  Son  of  Man,  breath- 
ing into  men  the  enthusiasm  of  human  it}-,  gave  to  the 
world  a  new  ideal  and  a  new  motive  power.  Until  recent 
times  the  whole  conception  of  education  was  narrow  in  the 
extreme.  The  idea  that  any  sj'stem  could  be  devised  power- 
ful enough  to  reach  and  to  educate  the  whole  mass  of  men — 
to  permeate  it  with  light  and  knowledge — never  began  to 
assume  a  practical  shape,  and  was  by  no  means  deemed 
generally  advisable,  until  the  new  spirit  had  changed  the 
temper  and  the  ideals  of  the  world.  This  change  has  not 
been  wrought  in  the  last  one  hundred  years;  centuries  have 
been  required  to  effect  it;  but  at  last  the  conviction  that 
society,  from  top  to  bottom,  can  be,  and  must  be,  educated, 
has  taken  fast  hold  of  men's  minds.  We  have  learned 
the  meaning  of  education  as  our  fathers  learned  the  mean- 
ing of  freedom,  which  was  its  necessary  precursor;  and 
an  educational  orator  of  Curran's  genius  might  equal 
the  immortal  passage  in  which  he  dignified  the  genius 
of  universal  emancipatioa. 


294  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

Let  me  call  brief  attention  to  one  of  the  most  interesting 
educational  movements  of  the  times.  I  mean  University 
Extension,  which  has  made  so  much  headway  in  England, 
and  is  now  beginning  to  get  a  foothold  in  the  United 
States.  This  is  an  attempt  to  carry  the  university,  by 
means  of  lectures,  examinations,  and  courses  of  prescribed 
reading,  to  people  who  cannot  come  to  the  university. 
It  is  a  democratic  movement  in  the  best  senseof  the  v^ord, 
and  recalls  the  noble  spirit  that  attended  the  original 
establishment  of  universities.  We  read  that  there  were 
at  one  time  20,000  students  at  Bologna,  an  equal  number 
at  Paris,  and  30,000  at  Oxford;  and  any  man  who  has 
seen  how  pervasive,  how  democratic,  how  stirring,  that 
great  intellectual  movement  was,  and  especially  if  he  has 
read  the  story  of  the  wandering  scholars,  has  no  difficulty 
in  seeing  how  these  results  were  reached. 

The  paths  by  which  men  reach  the  grand  conclusion 
are  as  numerous  as  the  other  elements  entering  into 
modern  education.  The  political  economist  tells  us  that 
education  promotes  a  man's  efficienc}'  as  a  producing 
agent;  the  moralist  says  he  must  be  forf ended  against  the 
approaches  of  evil;  the  statesman  emphasizes  the  fact 
of  citizenship;  the  political  philosopher  saj'S  all  the 
members  of  the  State  have  an  interest  in  one  another;  the 
minister  of  religion  recognizes  the  relations  of  mental  en- 
lightenment and  the  religious  life,  while  the  educator 
sums  up  all  in  the  declaration  that  a  man  must  be  edu- 
cated because  he  is  a  man. 

To  place  in  a  graduated  scale  the  various  forces  that 
have  contributed  to  create  the  genius  of  universal  edu- 
cation would  be  no  easy  task.  However,  no  man  who  is 
really  in  sympathy  with  the  great  democratic  movement 
of  the  century  is  likely  to  place  the  political  force  below 
the  summit.     One  of  the  two  golden  sentences  relating  to 


EDUCATIONAL  FUNCTION  OF  THE  MODERN  STATE,    o 


95 


education  in  Washington's  Farewell  Address,  is:  "  In 
proportion  as  the  structure  of  the  government  gives  place 
to  public  opinion,  it  is  essential  that  public  opinion  should 
be  enlightened. ' '  The  sentiment  is  as  wide  as  democrac}'. 
The  wisest  men  everj'w^here  see  that  democracy  is  not  a 
universal  form  of  government;  that  it  is  not  a  machine  that 
can  be  wound  up  once  in  two  or  four  j'ears,  and  then  be 
suffered  to  run  alone;  but  that  it  is  adapted  only  to  certain 
conditions,  one  of  which  is  a  high  average  intelligence  and 
morality,  and  that  universal  suffrage  means  universal 
education. 

This  rapid  review  brings  us  to  the  question  that  forms 
the  heart  of  the  present  address:  How  shall  the  people  be 
educated?  Or,  more  definitely,  how  shall  universal  edu- 
cation be  provided  ?  Before  attempting  to  answer,  let  us 
get  a  more  exact  idea  of  what,  on  the  material  side,  na- 
tional education  means.  Five  or  six  statistical  items  from 
the  ' '  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Education ' '  for 
1887-88  will  answer  our  purpose. 

That  year  there  were  in  the  United  States  219,063  pub- 
lic school  buildings,  and  11,952,209  pupils  in  the  schools, 
exclusive  of  high  schools  (an  item  that  was  not  adequately 
reported),  with  an  average  daily  attendance  of  7,852,607 
pupils.  These  pupils  were  taught  by  347,292  teachers; 
the  valuation  of  public  school  property  was  $297,481,328. 
several  States  being  omitted ;  and  the  total  school  expendi- 
ture of  the  year,  not  including  payments  on  bonded  in- 
debtedness, was  8122,455,252.  The  State  of  Illinois  had 
12,208  school  houses  and  15,744  teachers;  751,349  pupils 
in  the  schools,  averaging  518,092  in  daily  attendance;  a 
total  school  expenditure,  counted  as  before,  of  810,279,- 
374;  school  property  valued  at  824,940,783;  and  a  per- 
manent school  fund  of  810,383,133.     These  .statistics  are 


296  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

three  years  old.  The  people  of  the  country  are  now 
expending  for  public  schools  more  than  $130,000,000  an- 
nually/ Still,  the  showing  of  the  cost  of  education  is 
not  complete,  until  we  add  the  statistics  of  private  schools, 
church  schools,  and  of  colleges  and  universities — the  whole 
making  a  total  that  is  simply  overwhelming.  Nothing 
could  show  more  conclusively  the  hold  that  education  has 
taken  of  the  American  mind.  And  yet  in  many  States 
the  supply  is  very  defective. 

How  shall  this  enormous  burden  be  borne  ?  It  is  very 
clear  that  it  cannot  be  left  to  individual  effort.  For,  first, 
a  considerable  number  of  persons  take  no  interest  in  the 
education  of  their  children;  secondly,  many  have  no 
proper  ideals  of  educational  ends  and  requirements;  and, 
thirdly,  the  provision  of  education  for  their  families  is  far 
beyond  the  pecuniar}^  ability  of  a  great  number  of  people. 
The  notion  that  education  can  be  left  to  individuals  must 
be  summarily  dismissed. 

But  it  has  often  been  said,  and  will  often  be  said  again, 
that,  were  the  State  to  step  aside,  voluntary  associated 
effort  would  come  to  the  relief  of  individual  initiative.  It 
is  argued  that  voluntaryism  is  now  a  powerful  educational 
agent;  that  it  is  at  the  same  time  greatly  weakened  through 
State  interference;  and  that  it  is  just  as  competent  to 
furnish  schools  and  education  as  it  is  to  furnish  churches 
and  religious  teaching.  Herbert  Spencer^  has  labored 
hard  to  establish  this  doctrine,  but,  fortunately,  he  has 
failed  to  impress  the  public  mind  with  it,  and  has  not  suc- 
ceeded even  in  carrying  the  laissez  /aire  philosophers  all 
with  him.     Still  it  demands  a  closer  scrutiny. 

In  all  countries  where  the  moral  energies  of  the  people 
have  not  been  broken  down  or  dwarfed  by  paternal  gov- 

1  For  the  year  1893-94,  the  total  expenditure  was  5170,384,173 

2  See  Social  Statics. 


EDUCATIONAL  FUNCTION  OF  THE  MODERN  STATE.    297 

ernment,  voluntaryism  is  a  prodigious  power,  capable  of 
accomplishing  marvels,  not  only  in  industry  and  com- 
merce, but  also  in  morals,  education,  and  religion.  Wit- 
ness England  and  the  United  States.  The  Catholic 
Church  even,  which  had  been  accustomed  for  centuries 
to  depend  upon  the  State,  is  surprised  to  discover  in  this 
country  how  potent  voluntaryism  is.  All  honor  to  the 
churches  and  associations  that  have  made  this  great  dis- 
covery. What  is  more,  at  a  time  when  multitudes  of  our 
fellow-citizens,  weary  of  independence  and  self-helpful- 
ness, are  loudly  invoking  the  Genius  of  Paternalism  to 
bless  the  countr}-.  let  us  beware  of  weakening  this  incom- 
parable agent,  to  which  so  much  that  is  great  in  American 
civilization  is  due. 

But  a  moment's  reflection  must  make  it  clear  to  every 
man  other  than  a  hopeless  doctrinaire  that  voluntary  en- 
terprise cannot  educate  the  whole  people.  Look  again  at 
the  statistics  showing  the  vastness  of  the  undertaking  and 
the  immense  resources  required  to  compass  it.  Look  into 
the  great  cities,  with  their  hundreds  of  school  houses, 
thousands  of  teachers,  hundreds  of  thousands  of  school 
children,  and  enormous  school  expenditure.  Public- 
spirited  as  are  the  citizens  of  Chicago,  and  immense  as 
are  their  resources,  the  proposition  to  abandon  the  public 
school  system  of  the  city  and  go  back  to  private  enter- 
prise, would  be  no  less  absurd  than  the  proposition  to 
throw  away  the  steam  fire-engines  and  go  back  to  buckets 
and  hand  machines.  On  this  point  the  testimony  of  ex- 
perience is  absolutely  conclusive.  No  people  that  relied 
exclusively  upon  voluntary  agencies  for  education  ever 
became  educated.  Every  educated  people  have  been  com- 
pelled to  invoke  a  power  higher  than  private  enterprise. 
The  Church,  of  course,  has  been  the  chief  voluntary 
agent  in  Christian  countries;  but  the  Church  has  never 


29cS  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

undertaken,  even  if  it  has  ever  conceived,  the  task  of 
educating  the  whole  people.  On  the  contrary,  the  Church 
has  commonly  put  forth  its  mightiest  energies  when  stim- 
ulated by  the  most  formidable  competition  from  some  non- 
ecclesiastical  source. 

On  this  branch  of  the  argument  the  history  of  England 
is  of  peculiar  interest.  Down  to  sixty  years  ago,  volun- 
tary effort  was  the  sole  educational  resource.  It  produced 
colleges,  universities,  and  secondary  schools  that  are  the 
glory  of  England;  but  in  the  field  of  popular  education  its 
highest  achievements  were  the  Dame  School,  celebrated 
by  Shenstone  in  "The  Schoolmistress,"^  and  the  Sunday 
Schools  organized  by  Robert  Raikes,  at  least  until  it  was 
quickened  by  the  demand  for  national  education.  But 
even  the  Dame  Schools  and  Sunday  Schools  were  raiser- 

*  "  In  every  village  mark'd  with  little  spire, 

Embower'd  in  trees,  and  hardly  known  to  Fame, 
There  dwells  in  lowly  shed,  and  mean  attire, 
A  matron  old,  whom  we  Schoolmistress  name. 


'The noises  intermix'd,  which  thence  resound, 
Do  Learning's  little  tenement  betray: 
Where  sits  the  dame,  disguis'd  in  look  profound. 
And  eyes  her  fairy  thron<^,  and  turns  her  wheel  around. 


'  One  ancient  hen  she  took  delight  to  feed, 
The  plodding  pattern  of  the  busy  dame; 
Which,  ever  and  anon,  impell'd  by  need, 
Into  her  school,  begirt  with  chickens,  came! 
Such  favor  did  her  past  deportment  claim; 
And,  if  Neglect  hadlavish'd  on  the  ground 
Fragment  of  bread,  she  would  collect  the  same; 
For  well  she  knew,  and  quaintly  could  expound, 
What  sin  it  were  to  waste  the  smallest  crumb  she  found. 


EDUCATIONAL  FUNCTION  OF  THE  MODERN  STATE 


299 


ably  inadequate  in  number.  The  masses  of  the  people 
were  wholly  untaught.  Sidney  Smith  declared  "there 
was  no  Protestant  country  in  the  world  where  the  educa- 
tion of  the  poor  had  been  .so  grossly  and  infamously 
neglected  as  in  England  ' ' ;  Malthus  said  it  was  ' '  a  great 
national  disgrace  that  the  education  of  the  lower  cla.sses  of 
the  people  should  be  left  mainly  to  a  few  Sunday  schools' ' ; 
while  Dean  Alford  wrote  as  late  as  1889:  "Pru.ssia  is 
before  us;  Switzerland  is  before  us;  France  is  before  us; 
there  is  no  record  of  any  people  on  earth  .so  highly  civil- 
ized, so  abounding  in  arts  and  comforts,  and  so  gro.ssl}-, 
generally  ignorant  as  the  English."  And  all  the  time 
representative  Englishmen  regarded  the  situation  with 
perfect  complacency.  Lord  Eldon,  in  1807,  thought  popu- 
lar education  one  of  the  worst  delusions  of  the  times,  and 
the  Archbi.shop  of  Canterbury  exhorted  the  Lords  not  to 
shake  the  foundations  of  the  established  religion  b}' 
introducing  innovations.  The  charity  .schools  were  pro- 
nounced all-sufficient.  Bishop  Hor.sley  said  in  the  House 
of  Lords,  in  1795,  that  he  did  not  know  what  the 
mass  of  people  in  any  country  had  to  do  with  the  laws 
but  to  obey  them;  and  Lad}^  Harrowby,  in  1832,  asked 
how  it  mattered  what  the  people  thought  or  said 
about  public  matters,  provided  the  army  could  be 
depended  upon.  In  1807,  when  the  subject  of  popular 
education  was  first  brought  before  the  House  of  Commons, 
the  majority,  according  to  Sir  Samuel  Romily,  thought  it 
was  better  for  the  people  to  remain  in  ignorance.  The 
accomplished  Windham  oppo.sed  the  pending  bill  because 
some  mutineers  in  the  Channel  fleet  had  read  the  news- 
papers; while  another  orator  declared  that  the  French 
Revolution  was  due  to  the  people's  reading  books. 
"Blackwood's  Magazine"  opposed  popular  education 
because  it  would  make  the  people  restless  and  uneasy; 


300  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

because,  since  ignorance  is  the  mother  of  contentment, 
they  should  receive  only  a  religious  education  that  would 
render  them  patient,  amiable,  and  moral,  and  relieve  the 
hardship  of  their  present  lot  by  the  prospect  of  a  bright 
eternity. 

In  1832  Parliament  voted  20,000  pounds  sterling  for 
education.  The  grant  was  repeated  several  years,  and 
then  gradually  increased.  Religious  partisans  now  took 
alarm;  men  of  the  Establishment,  because  they  dreaded 
the  tendencies  of  popular  education,  and  Dissenters, 
because  they  feared  that  the  Establishment  would  mon- 
opolize the  grants.  The  result  was  the  organization  of  a 
movement  composed  of  men  who  declared  State  education 
not  only  wrong  in  principle  but  unnecessary  and  harm- 
ful in  practice.  The  Voluntaryists  strove  to  show  their 
faith  by  their  works.  They  beat  loudly  the  drum 
ecclesiastic.  Never,  perhaps,  was  a  harder  struggle 
made  to  reach  a  similar  end.  But  all  in  vain;  the  experi- 
ment was  tried  out  to  the  end,  and  ended  in  confessed 
failure.  While  it  was  in  course  of  trial,  Lord  Macaulay 
delivered  in  the  House  of  Commons,  in  1847,  the  cele- 
brated speech  on  education  which  was  one  of  the  causes 
of  his  defeat  at  Edinburgh  at  the  next  election.  This 
masterly  speech  should  be  read  by  every  man  who  places 
faith  in  the  sufficiency  of  voluntary  education.  Macaulay 
described,  as  only  he  could  describe,  the  ignorance  of  the 
English  masses.  Of  260,000  people  married  in  1844, 
he  said,  more  than  100,000  signed  their  marriage  papers 
with  a  cross.  His  impassioned  thought  burst  out  in 
passages  like  this: 

I  do  believe  that  the  state  of  education  among  the  common 
people  of  this  country  ought  to  make  us  ashamed,  and  that  we 
should  present  a  melancholy  spectacle  to  any  very  enlightened 
foreigner  visiting  our  shores.     I''nder  these  circumstances,  what  is 


EDUCATIONAL  FUNCTION  OF  THE  MODERN  STATE.    30I 

said  ?  We  are  told  that  the  priuciple  of  uou-iuterference  and  of 
free  competition  will  be  as  powerful  a  stimulus  to  education  as  it 
is  to  trade.  Why,  this  morning  I  received  a  paper  containing 
reasons  for  opposingthe  present  grant;  and  it  is  said  that  if  we  only 
wait  with  patience,  the  principle  of  free  competition  will  do  all  that 
is  necessary  for  education.  We  have  been  waiting  with  patience 
since  the  Heptarchy.  How  much  longer  are  we  to  wait  ?  Are  we 
to  wait  till  2847  or  3847  ?  Will  you  wait  till  patience  is  exhausted? 
Can  you  say  that  the  experiment  which  has  been  tried  with  so 
little  effect  has  been  tried  under  unfavorable  circumstances?  Has 
it  been  tried  on  a  small  scale,  or  for  a  short  period  ?  You  can  say 
none  of  these  things;  and  I  defy  you  to  show  that  you  ought  to 
apply  to  education  the  principle  of  free  competition.  The  principle 
is  not  applicable. 

Not  the  lea.st  effective  part.s  of  this  .speech  were  the 
passages  in  which  the  orator  told  what  the  Scotch  and  the 
New  Englanders  had  done  in  the  field  of  popular  educa- 
tion by  the  invocation  of  the  power  of  the  State. 

Conservative  as  the  English  people  are,  and  well 
.schooled  in  laissez-faire,  they  have  been  compelled  more 
and  more  to  abandon  competition  as  an  educational  agent, 
and  to  call  in  the  agent  that  had  already  produced  such 
great  results  in  Germany,  in  Scotland,  and  in  New  Eng- 
land. The  Fonster  Act  of  1870  was  a  long  step  forward; 
and  the  results  immediately  following  it  were,  no  doubt, 
the  greatest  of  their  kind  ever  produced  by  a  single  enact- 
ment. According  to  Sir  Charles  Reed,^  the  London 
School  Board  alone,  in  the  years  1871-1880,  provided 
facilities  for  the  schooling  of  225,236  children;  and 
similar  results  were  seen  all  over  England  and  Wales,  to 
which  alone  the  Act  applied.  The  Forster  Act,  which 
was  at  the  time  by  no  means  satisfactory  to  the  ardent 
champions  of  public  education,  has  been  strengthened 
both  by  supplementary  legislation  and  by  better  adminis- 

i  See  his  statement  made  to  the  London  School  Board,  Sept. 
30,  1880.     Blemoir  of  Sir  Charles  Reed,  by  his  son,  C.  E.  B.  Rcc<l. 


302  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

tration.  And  3^et  dissatisfaction  with  what  has  been  done 
is  all  the  time  growing.  Parliament  must  go  still  further, 
as  is  shown  by  the  admission  made  within  the  year  by 
leading  Tory  statesmen,  including  Lord  Salisbury,  that 
the  children's  pence,  or  rate  bills  as  we  should  call  them, 
which  produce  some  ^2,000,000  annually,  must  be 
disregarded  and  an  equal  amount  be  furnished  b}'  the 
treasury.  Such  legislation  will  be  the  next  important 
step  in  the  history  of  popular  education  in  England/ 

So  we  come  back  again  to  our  text.  How  shall  the 
education  of  the  people  be  provided  for?  The  only 
answer  to  this  question  is,  the  State,  the  Organized  Nation, 
the  Embodied  People,  acting  through  the  government. 
The  State  can  effect  the  result.  It  can  create  and 
administer  the  necessary  educational  institutions.  It  can 
furnish  the  needed  funds.  It  can  wield  the  required  coer- 
cive authority.  Practically  there  is  no  limit  to  what 
it  may  do,  save  alone  the  popular  will  and  the  resources 
of  civilization.  Furthermore,  the  government  is  the  only 
agent  that  can  do  this  work.  No  people  ever  became 
educated  that  did  not  invoke  its  authority.  No  people 
ever  invoked  it  in  good  earnest  that  did  not  find  it  suffi- 
cient. In  some  of  the  German  States  the  work  is  done 
so  thoroughly  that  practically  illiteracy  does  not  exist. 
Dr.  vStanley  Hall  says  of  Prussia: 

We  cannot  study  too  carefully  here  the  chief  feature  of  this 
great  educational  State.  Its  magnificent  campaign  against  ignor- 
ance opens  with  matchless  vigor.  Every  parent  must  send  his 
child  to  school  from  six  to  fourteen — in  many  places  they  still  pay 
a  trifling  monthly  fee — or  he  is,  as  Luther  held,  an  enemy  of  the 
State.  He  might  almost  as  mx'11  refuse  to  pay  taxes  or  fight  an 
invading  foe.  In  1888  of  about  5,000,000  German  children  only 
5,143  were  absent  from  school  without  cause.      In  Berlin   in  the 

»  See  note,  p.  312. 


EDUCATIONAL  FUNCTION  OF  THE  MODERN  STATE.    303 

same  year  14  boys  and  oue  girl  of  school  age  evaded  the  law,  but 
this  result  was  secured  by  fining  1,020  parents  and  arresting  1,088. 
Illiteracy  proper  is  practically  extinguished. ' 

It  is  scarcely  an  exaggeration  to  say  that  nations  have 
become  educated  in  the  ratio  that  they  have  enlisted  gov- 
ernment in  the  work.  How  significant  are  the  expen- 
ditures for  public  elementary  education  in  England  and 
Wales  for  the  last  twenty  years. 

1869-70 £1,673,306 

1879-80 6,327,460 

1888-89 9,043,565 

The  parliamentary  grants  increased  from  £20,000  in 
1832  to  £3,684,000  in  1890.  In  1869  the  number  of  child- 
ren in  average  attendance  in  elementar^^  schools  was 
1,062,299;  in  1888  it  was  3,614,937— an  increase  of  three 
and  a  third  times  in  nineteen  years.  Voluntary  education 
has  become  practically  stationary. 

The  recent  educational  history  of  France  teaches  the 
same  lesson.  In  1881  primary  education  was  made  com- 
pulsory, and  in  1882  gratuitous.  These  are  the  expendi- 
tures for  public  education  of  all  kinds  at  the  dates  men- 
tioned: 

1857 16,523,969  francs. 

1878 59,216,449 

1888 146,000,000 

State  action  has  often  stimulated  voluntary  action.  It 
was  so  in  England  in  the  palmy  days  of  voluntaryism.  It 
is  so  to-day  in  the  United  States.  Far  be  it  from  me  to 
belittle  the  educational  zeal  of  the  Catholic  Church;  but 
does  any  man  for  a  moment  suppose  that  Church  would 
ever  have  built  up  its  present  schools,  capable  of  teaching 
600,000  pupils,   had  it  not  been  incited  thereto  by  the 

public  schools  ?  

»  The  Pedagogical  Semi Jtary,  Vol.  I.,  p.  3. 


304 


STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 


Xor  can  the  State  afford  to  be  an  idle  spectator  in  this 
matter.  In  ancient  States  dominated  by  absolute  despots, 
or  in  medieval  States  dominated  by  petty  tyrants, 
that  was  possible,  but  the  character  of  the  State  has 
greatly  changed  in  modern  times.  Democratic  forms, 
and  still  more  the  democratic  spirit,  has  become  a  prodi- 
gious social  force.  In  the  modern  State  no  man  lives  to 
himself  and  no  man  dies  to  himself;  ever}'  man  affects  and 
is  affected  by  every  other.  The  safet}'  of  the  State,  the 
well-being  of  the  whole  people,  the  preser^^ation  of  the 
government,  demand  popular  education.  Lord  Macaulaj' 
summed  up  the  argument  in  the  epigram,  "If  the  State 
may  hang,  the  State  may  educate. ' ' 

The  conclusion  then  is  this:  A  State  has  the  same  right 
to  educate  the  people — that  is,  to  educate  itself — that  it 
has  to  perform  any  other  great  public  function  or  office. 
The  arguments  which  prove  that  it  should  provide  police, 
health  inspectors,  and  an  army, prove  that  it  should  pro- 
vide schools  and  education.  Moreover,  voluntary  effort 
is  just  as  competent  to  defend  and  police  vSociety  as  it  is  to 
educate  its  members.  All  these  incomparable  public  in- 
terests call  for  the  organized  efforts  of  the  sovereign 
nation. 

That  universal  education  means  State  education,  is  so 
demonstrably  true  that  it  is  hard  to  .see  how  any  modern 
mind  can  resist  the  proposition.  One  almost  feels  like 
apologizing  for  .seriously  arguing  it;  still,  it  is  important 
to  perceive  clearly  just  what  State  education  means.  It 
does  not  mean  the  education  of  the  people  by  an  abstrac- 
tion called  the  State;  it  does  not  mean  the  education  of  the 
many  by  the  few  or  the  few  by  the  many ;  it  means  merely 
that  the  people,  or  the  nation,  educate  themselves  through 
the  same  agency  that  they  use  to  .secure  the  peace  of  their 
streets,  to  defend  their  coa.sts,  to  carry  their    letters,  to 


EDUCATIONAL  FUNCTION  OF  THE  MODERN  STATE.    305 

conduct  scientific  survei'S,  to  found  libraries,  and  to  care 
for  the  unfortunate  classes — that  is,  the  Government. 

State  education  involves  several  corollaries  that  should 
be  clearly  stated. 

First,  State  education  does  not  necessaril}^  mean  the 
complete  absorption  of  education  by  State  schools.  While 
the  State  must  see  that  its  members  are  adequately  edu- 
cated, it  may  leave  the  education  of  those  children  whose 
parents  prefer  it  to  non-State  schools-  Private  schools 
and  Church  schools,  like  public-schools,  are  the  legiti- 
mate subjects  of  criticism;  but  to  assail  them  as  illegiti- 
mate or  useless  argues  a  narrowness  that,  under  changed 
circumstances,  would  also  assail  the  public  schools.  Un- 
doubtedly, such  schools  are  a  valuable  and  an  indispensa- 
ble part  of  the  educational  supply  of  society.  It  is  to  be 
observed,  however,  that  the  State  has  the  undoubted 
right,  in  view  of  its  sovereignty,  to  assert  a  general  con- 
trol over  non-State  schools.  Whether  it  shall  exercise 
this  right  or  not,  is  a  practical  question  to  be  answered 
when  and  where  it  arises.  The  answer  must  depend 
upon  the  conditions  present  in  a  given  case. 

Secondly,  the  State  school  must  be  conducted  on  the 
same  principle  as  other  branches  of  the  government.  It 
is  a  civil  institution,  and  must  be  conducted  on  the  same 
lines  as  other  civil  institutions.  The  meaning  of  this  is 
that  the  State  school  must  teach  those  subjects  that  society 
wants  to  have  taught,  and  that  affect  the  welfare  of  the 
State.  Whatever  does  not  come  v.'ithin  this  compass  must 
be  eliminated.  The  common  .school  is  for  the  conunon 
benefit,  and  it  must  meet  common  wants.  No  man  worth 
regarding  now  teaches  the  doctrine  of  the  social  contract; 
still  all  teachers  of  political  philosophy  recognize  the  fact 
that  practical    government  is  impossible,  particularly  in 


3o6  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

democratic  societies,  save  on  the  principle  of  striking  an 
average.  Only  by  putting  the  State  school  on  distinctly 
civil  ground  can  we  logically  defend  it.  Fortunately,  the 
margin  of  possible  difference  of  opinion  as  to  what  shall 
be  taught  in  the  public  school  is  a  narrow  one.  Every- 
body says  the  elementary  branches  of  learning  must  be 
taught,  and  the  univ^ersal  morality;  while  there  is  a  grow- 
ing conviction  that  the  State  must  also  provide  secondary 
and  higher  instruction. 

Unfortunately,  this  view  is  obnoxious  to  some  excel- 
lent people.  As  though  that  were  a  terrible  thing,  they 
say  that  it  secularizes  the  school.  Will  these  people 
kindly  go  back  a  few  centuries  to  the  time  when  the  State 
was  a  semi-ecclesiastical  institution  ?  To  the  time  when 
every  function  of  government  was  much  more  theologi- 
cal or  religious  than  the  American  school  now  is  ?  The 
theor}'  of  the  State,  the  ends  of  the  State,  and  to  a  great 
extent  the  motives  of  the  State  were  ecclesiastical,  while 
a  majority  of  public  functionaries  were  ecclesiastics.  But 
the  modern  State  has  been  both  .secularized  and  laicized 
in  these  particulars.  Even  the  Church  is  regarded  by 
the  statesmen  of  some  countries  mainly  from  the  civil 
standpoint.  The  old  political  philosophy  is  gone.  Re- 
ligious wars  have  ceased.  Not  only  Becket  and  Langton 
have  vanished,  but  also  Pole,  Wolsey,  Mazarin,  and 
Richelieu.  Once  there  were  as  many  lords  spiritual  in 
the  House  of  Lords  as  lords  temporal;  now  there  are  one- 
tenth  as  many,  and  these  exercise  little  influence  save  on 
ecclesiastical  .subjects.  No  English  ecclesiastic  has  been 
Lord  Chancellor  since  the  seventeenth  century,  and  not 
one  has  held  a  high  office  of  state  since  the  beginning  of 
the  eighteenth.  Since  1801  the  law  has  forbidden  men 
once  admitted  to  orders  in  the  Established  Church  to  sit 
in  the  Hou.se  of  Commons.     It  has  taken  many  .steps  to 


EDUCATIONAL  FUNCTION  OF  THE  MODERN  STATE.    307 

effect  these  momentous  changes.  Ever}-  one  of  them  has 
been  resisted  by  men  of  the  ecclesiastical  mental  habit. 
But  can  any  man  in  possession  of  a  modern  mind  doubt 
that  both  politics  and  religion  have  been  great  gainers  in 
consequence  ?  Or  can  such  men  doubt  that,  eventually, 
the  State  school  must  be  put  on  the  .same  footing  as  the 
other  departments  of  the  civil  admini.stration ?  Or,  again, 
can  he  doubt  that  this  will  be  for  the  ultimate  advantage 
of  all  concerned  ? 

It  will  be  said  that  the  school  differs  from  other  State 
institutions  in  this, — that  it  is  an  educational  agent  and 
has  to  do  with  the  formation  of  character.  The  reply  is, 
that  the  putting  of  other  civil  institutions  on  a  civil  foun- 
dation was  once  opposed  as  strenuously,  and  with  the 
same  argument.  Besides,  the  State  can  do  its  full  duty 
as  a  moral  teacher  in  the  civil  school. 

But  some  will  persist  that  man  is  a  religious  being,  and 
requires  a  religious  education-  Let  this  be  frankly  and 
fully  admitted.  The  answer  is  that  the  Church  exists  for 
the  very  purpose  of  forming  the  religious  character  and 
directing  the  religious  lives  of  men.  If  this  reply  is  not 
satisfactory,  possibly  we  can  reach  a  more  definite  one. 

In  Europe  the  relation  of  the  Church  to  the  .school  has 
received  far  more  attention  than  in  the  United  States. 
One  .solution  is  the  denominational  school,  pure  and  .simple, 
which  is,  plainly,  no  solution  at  all.  A  .second  solution, 
which,  however,  is  but  a  form  of  the  first  one,  is  the 
"blending"  system,  once  in  vogue  in  England.  The 
copies  set  in  the  writing  books  were  texts  of  Scripture, 
and  the  arithmetical  examples  were  made  out  of  Bible 
facts.  For  instance:  "The  children  of  Israel  were  sadly 
given  to  idolatry,  notwith.standing  all  they  knew  of  God. 
Moses  was  obliged  to  have  3,000  men  put  to  death  for 
this  grievous  evil.     What  digits  would  you  use  to  express 


308  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

this  number  ?  "  "Of  Jacob's  four  wives,  Leah  had  six 
sons;  Rachel  had  two;  Bilhah  had  two,  and  Zilpah  had 
also  two.  How  many  sons  had  Jacob  ? ' '  These  are 
questions  from  a  "Scriptural"  arithmetic  once  used  in 
English  schools  patronized  by  the  Established  Church. 
It  would  be  hard  to  invent  any  kind  of  exercise  that 
would  more  effectually  defeat  reverence  for  the  Bible. 
Another  solution  is  the  so-called  '  'comprehensive' '  system 
of  England,  which  permits  definite  religious  instruction 
to  be  given  in  school  to  those,  and  to  those  only,  who 
wish  to  receive  it.  This  may  work  in  some  countries, 
but  it  is  impossible  in  the  United  States.  Under  the  "com- 
bined," or  Irish  system,  the  scholars  receive  secular  in- 
struction from  the  schoolmasters,  and  separate  religious 
teaching  from  the  ministers  of  religion.  This,  no  doubt, 
is  the  happiest  solution  that  has  ever  been  reached,  pro- 
vided the  secular  instruction  and  the  religious  instruction 
are  given  in  separate  places.  This  is  the  French  way — 
a  weekly  holiday  on  which  parents  who  are  so  disposed 
may  send  their  children  to  the  church  or  the  parsonage  to 
be  taught  religion  by  the  priest  or  the  pastor. 

Thirdly,  the  public  schools  and  the  public-school  funds 
must  be  controlled  absolutely  and  alone  by  the  public. 
That  is,  the  State — the  corporate  people — acting  through 
the  government,  must  control  them.  In  modern  society, 
the  onl3''  agent  to  which  the  State  could  delegate  its  power 
and  its  resources  is  the  Church  or  the  churches.  No 
other  agent  asks  to  receive  such  a  delegation.  No  other 
could  exercise  it.  Without  entering  into  the  question 
of  what  the  vState  ma}^  or  may  not  do  in  countries  having 
established  churches,  I  must  declare  with  emphasis  that 
in  the  United  States  government  cannot  enter  into  any 
I'ducational  partnership  with  any  church  or  churches. 
It  is  a  significant  fact  that  the  plan  of  having  the  school- 


EDUCATIONAL  FUNCTION  OF  THE  MODERN  STATE.    309 

board  rent,  at  a  nominal  rate,  the  parochial  school  houses 
from  9  A.M.  to  3  p.m.,  and  employ  and  pay  the  parochial 
teachers,  excluding  religious  instruction  between  those 
hours  but  permitting  it  on  either  side  of  them,  has  never 
found  general  favor.  Nor,  we  may  be  certain,  will  the 
recent  recommendation  by  a  high  ecclesiastic  that  the 
English  plan  of  having  the  State  pay  for  the  secular 
education  given  in  denominational  schools  according  to 
results  determined  by  the  State's  own  examinations,  be 
received  with  favor.  Both  plans  are  antagonistic  to 
American  ideas. 

Fourthly,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  citizen  to  give  the  State 
the  same  support  in  discharging  its  educational  function 
that  he  gives  it  in  other  functions.  He  has  the  same 
liberty  of  action  here  that  he  has  in  other  spheres  of  State 
action;  he  may  criticize  the  State  schools  and  seek  to 
improve  them;  but  to  antagonize  them  and  obstruct  their 
operation  is  an  offense  of  the  same  kind  as  to  antagonize 
it  in  any  of  its  other  functions.  Such  conduct  is  more 
than  unpatriotic.  Were  Luther  living,  he  would  plainly 
call  such  a  man  an  enemy  of  the  State. 

It  is  idle  to  reply  that  the  ancient  States  did  not  main- 
tain common  schools,  and  that  State  education,  as  we 
know  it,  is  a  modern  idea.  The  argument  proves  too 
much.  It  would  also  cut  off  the  post-office.  State  owner- 
ship or  regulation  of  railroads  and  telegraph  lines,  scien- 
tific surveys.  State  asylums  for  the  blind  and  deaf,  and 
many  other  things  that  we  count  the  peculiar  glory  of  our 
civilization.  But,  further,  a  State  does  not,  like  a  fish  or 
a  tree,  perform  constant  and  unvarying  functions.  The 
conception  of  the  State  involves  absolute  sovereignty;  but 
this  sovereignty  manifests  itself  in  forms  that  are  deter- 
mined by  existing  civilization.  In  a  word,  the  State  passes 
through  successive  stages  of  development.     The  ancient 


3IO  STUDIES    IM    EDUCATION. 

State  did  things  that  the  modern  vState  does  not  do,  or  at 
least  is  ceasing  to  do;  the  modern  vState  does  things  that 
the  ancient  State  did  not  do.  The  ancient  tendency  was, 
for  example,  to  unite  closely  the  civil  and  the  religious 
offices  of  societ)'  in  one  organization;  the  modern  ten- 
dency is  to  separate  them.  With  few  exceptions,  ancient 
and  medieval  States  left  education  to  individuals;  the 
modern  State  has  assumed  the  duty  of  educating  its  mem- 
bers, and  is  constantl\'  laying  upon  it  increased  emphasis. 
The  idea  has  become  deeply  rooted  in  the  modern  mind 
that  the  property'  of  the  State  must  educate  the  children 
of  the  State;  and  there  is  about  as  much  probability  that 
the  State  will  5neld  this  function  as  there  is  that  it  will 
abandon  its  police  or  postal  organization.  On  this  point 
the  people  have  made  up  their  minds;  their  motto  is 
Nulla  vestigia  retrorstivi .  It  was  his  profound  conviction 
that  State  education  is  both  inevitable  and  necessary  which 
led  Archbishop  Ireland  to  say,  in  his  St.  Paul  address 
before  the  National  Educational  A.ssociation  in  July  last: 

The  right  of  the  State  school  to  exist,  I  consider,  is  a  matter 
beyond  the  stage  of  discussion.  I  most  fully  concede  it.  To  the 
child  must  be  imparted  instruction  in  no  mean  degree,  that  the 
man  may  earn  for  himself  an  honest  competence,  and  acquit  him- 
self of  the  duties  which  society  exacts  of  him  for  its  own  pros- 
perity and  life.  This  proposition,  true  in  any  country  of  modern 
times,  is  peculiarly  true  in  America.  The  imparting  of  this 
instruction  is  primarily  the  function  of  the  child'  s  parent.  The 
family  is  prior  to  the  State.  The  appointment  of  Providence  is 
that,  under  the  care  and  direction  of  the  parent,  the  child  shall 
grow  both  in  body  and  in  mind.  The  State  intervenes  whenever 
the  family  cannot  or  will  not  do  the  work  that  is  needed.  The 
State's  place  in  the  function  of  instruction  is  loco  parentis.  As 
things  are,  tens  of  thousands  of  children  will  not  be  instructed  if 
parents  remain  solely  in  charge  of  the  dutj'.  The  State  must 
come  forward  as  an  agent  of  instruction,  else  ignorance  will  pre- 
vail.    Indeed,  in  the  ab.sence  of  State  action,  there  never  was  that 


EDLXATIONAL  FUNCTION  OF  THE  MODERN  STATE.    311 

universal  instruction  which  we  have  so  nearly  attained  and  which 
we  deem  necessary.  In  the  absence  of  State  action,  I  believe  uni- 
versal instruction  would  never,  in  any  country,  have  been  possible. 
State  action  in  favor  of  instruction  implies  free  schools  in 
which  knowledge  is  conditioned  in  the  asking;  in  no  other  man- 
ner can  we  bring  instruction  within  the  reach  of  all  children. 
Free  schools!  Blest  indeed  is  the  nation  whose  vales  and  hillsides 
they  adorn,  and  blest  the  generation  upon  whose  souls  is  poured 
their  treasure!  No  tax  is  more  legitimate  than  that  which  is 
levied  for  the  dispelling  of  mental  darkness,  and  the  building  up 
within  a  nation's  bosom  of  intelligent  manhood  and  womanhood. 
The  question  may  not  be  raised,  how  much  good  accrues  to  the 
individual  taxpaj'^er;  the  general  welfare  is  richly  served,  and  this 
suffices.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add  that  the  money  paid  in 
school  tax  is  the  money  of  the  State,  and  is  to  be  disbursed  solely 
by  the  officials  of  the  State,  and  solely  for  the  specific  purpose 
for  which  it  was  collected.  ^ 

Considering  the  source  whence  it  emanates,  no  .stronger 
testimony  than  this  to  the  value  and  necessity  of  State 
action  in  the  educational  field  can  be  found  or  desired. 

Once  more,  we  can  hardly  insist  too  much  that  the 
assumption  of  the  educational  function  by  the  State  was 
necessitated  by  the  change  in  the  character  of  the 
State.  Until  recent  times,  the  State  consi.sted  practically 
of  a  small  number  of  persons.  The  many  were  an  igno- 
rant and  voiceless  herd.  In  Athens  there  were  ten  slaves 
for  every  freeman,  while  in  the  days  of  the  Antonines 
Rome  had  60,000,000  of  slaves  to  an  equal  number  of 
freeman.  The  republics  of  medieval  times  were  but 
somewhat  open  aristocracies.  In  notliing,  perhaps,  is  the 
modern  world  more  unlike  the  ancient  than  in  the  char- 
acter and  composition  of  the  State. 

And  this  brings  us  back  to  the  momentous  fact  with 
which  we  began— the  democratic  spirit  of  modern  civi- 

^  Addresses  and  Proceedings  of  the  National  Educational  As- 
sociation, 1890,  pp.  179,  etseq. 


312  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

lization,  and  particular!}-  of  our  own  century  and  country. 
It  is  the  enthusiasm  of  humanity  lifting  up  manhood, 
proclaiming  liberty  throughout  all  the  land  to  all  the 
inhabitants  thereof,  assigning  to  every  man  a  status  in 
society,  enfranchising  the  multitude,  strengthening  the 
weak  and  curbing  the  power  of  the  strong,  asserting  that 
men  are  members  one  of  another,  declaring  the  right  of 
the  most  darkened  mind  to  light  and  knowledge,  and 
providing  educational  institutions  with  a  view  of  making 
instruction  coextensive  with  the  State.  This  spirit  has 
attempted  great  undertakings.  Of  these,  universal  edu- 
cation is  the  greatest  and  the  noblest.  As  it  is  Divine  in 
spirit  and  in  aim,  so  it  may  seem  superhuman  in  diffi- 
culty. But  when  we  consider  the  momentum  that  has 
been  acquired,  the  experience  that  has  been  accumulated, 
and  the  vast  resources  at  command,  it  would  be  treason 
to  doubt  that,  in  the  end,  the  enthusiasm  of  humanity 
will  accomplish  the  work. 

Note. — The  Free  Education  Act  passed  the  same  year  that 
this  address  was  delivered,  was  a  long  step  in  the  direction  of  free 
education  in  England.  It  justified  the  prediction  made  on  p.  307. 
At  this  writing  the  subject  is  again  before  the  country  in  a  new 
form.     The  palmy  days  of  voluntaryism  are  spent. 


XVI. 

SOME  SOCIAL   FACTORS  IN  POPULAR 
EDUCATION  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.^ 


HE  President  Montesquieu  devotes  Book  IV.  of 
' '  The  Spirit  of  Laws ' '  to  the  proposition 
that  ' '  the  laws  of  education  ought  to  be  rela- 

)  tive  to  the  principles  of  government."     It  is 


evident  that  by  the  * '  laws  of  education  ' '  he  means  the 
spirit  or  genius  of  education,  for  he  proceeds  to  argue 
that— 

The  laws  of  education  are  the  first  impressions  we  receive; 
and  as  they  prepare  us  for  civil  life,  each  particular  family  ought 
to  be  governed  pursuant  to  the  plan  of  the  great  family  which 
comprehends  them  all.  If  the  people  in  general  have  a  principle, 
their  constituent  parts,  that  is,  the  several  families,  will  have  one 
also.  The  laws  of  education  will  be  therefore  different  in  each 
species  of  government;  in  monarchies  they  will  have  honor  for 
their  object;  in  republics,  virtue;  in  despotic  governments,  fear. 

He  contends  further  that — 

It  is  in  a  republican  government  that  the  whole  power  of  edu- 
cation is  required.  The  fear  of  despotic  governments  rises  natur- 
ally of  itself  amidst  threats  and  punishments;  the  honor  of 
monarchies  is  favored  by  the  passions,  and  favors  them  in  turn; 
but  virtue  is  a  self-renunciation  v,'hich  is  always  arduous  and 
painful. 

Granting  that  the  existing  frame  of  government  in  any 
country  should  continue  to  stand,  Montesquieu's  general 
proposition  is  perfectly  true.     Not  only  so,   it  would  be 

lA  papei  read  befor**  the  New  Jersey  State  Teachers' Assocl»- 
tion,  Asbury  Park,  N.  J.,  July,  189^ 

313 


314  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

equal!}'  true  in  respect  to  both  the  genius  and  the  institu- 
tions of  education  if  it  were  made  to  embrace  civil  societ}', 
or  civilization  as  a  whole.  Certainly  it  can  be  no  less  impor- 
tant that  education  should  be  relative  to  the  social  genius 
of  a  people  than  relative  to  its  governmental  frame-work. 
Once  more,  it  is  quite  as  evident  that  a  relation  z£77/ exist 
between  education  and  civil  society  as  that  it  ought  to 
exist  between  them.  It  is  by  no  means  true  that  civiliza- 
tions are  always  homogeneous.  Quite  the  contrary.  No 
civilization  has  been  free  from  incongruities  and  contra- 
dictions. In  England,  an  hereditary  legislative  house 
sits  side  by  side  with  the  most  august  and  powerful  repre- 
sentative assembly  that  has  ever  existed.  State  churches 
are  found  in  Switzerland,  France,  and  Great  Britain, 
although  the  first  two  countries  are  republics,  and  the 
other  a  democratized  monarchy.  No  democratic  country 
equals  Imperial  Germany  in  respect  to  popular  education, 
while  Scotland  has  long  surpassed  England  in  that  respect 
as  much  as  England  has  surpassed  Scotland  in  wealth. 
History  is  full  of  such  anomalies  as  these.  They  do  not, 
however,  disprove  the  fundamental  ideas  upon  which 
political  philosoph}"  rests.  The)-  are  due  to  a  variety  of 
causes.  One  is  that  the  institutions  of  civilization  are 
never  the  products  of  conscious  logic  or  theory,  but  are 
rather  growths  more  or  less  guided  by  theory.  Even  in 
countries  where  doctrinaires  and  idealogues  most  abound, 
and  have  most  sway,  they  do  not  really  legislate  for  the 
future.  Then  societ}-  does  not  proceed  along  the  several 
lines  of  movement  with  equal  step;  and  this  inequalit)^ 
again,  is  due  to  the  peculiar  qualities  of  the  national  genius 
and  character,  andto  the  varying  degrees  of  resistance  that 
facts  accomplished  oppose  to  the  innovating  spirit.  The 
State  churches  mentioned  are  survivals  of  the  period  when 
there  was  in  all  Christian  states  only  one  Church,  and  all 


SOCIAL  FACTORS  IN  POPULAR  EDrCATION.    315 

men  belonged  to  it;  and  it  is  hard  to  believe  that  they  can 
permanently  breast  the  waves  of  modern  democrac\- .     It  is 
probable  that  the  House  of  Lords  will  sometime  be  either 
ended  or   mended.     The  slow  progress  that  elementary 
education  had  made  in  England  down  to  1870  was  due 
mainly  to  the  stronghold  of  the  laissez-faire  principle  on 
the  English  mind,  to  the  strong  aristocratic  tone  of  Eng- 
lish society,  and  to  the  indifference  or  opposition  of  the 
Established  Church,  which,  from   the  first,  had  failed  to 
take  such  a  hold  of  the  common  mind  as  the  Reformed 
Churches  of  Scotland  and  the  Continent  had  taken.     But 
even  in  England  where,  as  the  French  say,  facts  predom- 
inate over  ideas,  social  factors  tend  to  coalesce;  the  year 
which    ushered   in    the  first    Reform    Bill  saw  the    first 
Parliamentary    grant    for  education,   while    the    Reform 
Bill  of  1867  was  the  immediate  precursor  of  the  Elemen- 
tary Education  Act  of  1870,  which  again  has  been  fol- 
lowed by  the  Acts  of  1873,  1874,  1876,  1879,  1880,  and 
1891.     Even  the  staunchest  English  conservatives  seem 
to  have  accepted  the  famous  saying  uttered  b}-  Lord  Sher- 
brooke  with  immediate  reference  to  the  Reform  Bill  of 
1867:  "  We  must  educate  our  masters." 

One  conclusion  to  be  drawn  from  the  foregoing  consid- 
erations is,  that  the  historical  study  of  education  in  any 
country  should  be  wide  enough  to  include  such  factors  as 
national  character,  the  time-spirit,  political  institutions, 
the  industrial  system,  and  moral,  philosophical,  and  reli- 
gious ideas.  Education  is  never  a  single  or  unrelated 
fact,  but  is  always  bound  up  with  a  great  number  of 
other  facts.  Partly  to  illustrate  this  conclusion,  and 
partly  to  accomplish  other  purposes  that  will  appear  in 
the  sequel,  it  is  proposed  in  this  paper  to  point  out  the 
educational  bearings  of  three  or  four  groups  of  statistics 
drawn  from  the  Census  of  1890. 


3l6  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

We  shall  first  glance  at  the  series  of  very  interesting 
tables  and  maps, found  in  the  Bulletins  issued  by  the  Cen- 
sus Office/  showing  the  areas  of  territory  that  are  occu- 
pied by  certain  maxima  and  minima  of  population.  Two 
explanatory  remarks  are,  however,  called  for.  One  is 
that  the  Census  Office  considers  those  parts  of  the  country 
which  have  a  population  of  less  than  2  to  the  square  mile 
as  unsettled.  These  parts  amount  to  something  more  than 
a  third  of  the  whole,  including  Alaska.  The  precise  ratio 
is  1,077,594  to  3,024,880  sq.  miles.  The  other  is  that 
urban  population  is  not  considered  in  preparing  these 
tables  and  maps.  The  moment  that  any  center  of  popu- 
lation is  discovered  to  contain  an  aggregate  of  8,000  peo- 
ple, it  is  called  a  city,  and  is  at  once  withdrawn  from  the 
computation.  Thus,  51.58  per  cent  of  the  population  of 
the  North  Atlantic  States  was  excluded  altogether;  or, 
69.90  per  cent  of  Massachusetts,  78.89  per  cent  of  Rhode 
Island,  and  59.50  per  cent  of  New  York.  As  a  rule, 
the  county  has  been  made  the  unit  for  these  computa- 
tions. The  total  population  of  a  county  (less  the  city  pop- 
ulation as  explained  above)  is  made  the  dividend,  its  area 
in  square  miles  the  divisor,  and  the  quotient  is  accepted 

1  The  Bulletins  used  are  the  following:  No.  16  {Population 
of  the  United  States  by  States  and  Territories,  i8go);  No.  52  {Urban 
Population  iti  1890);  No.  48  ( The  White  and  Colored  Popu- 
lation in  the  Utiited  States  in  1S90);  No.  105  {Population  0/ Places 
having  1,000  inhabitants  or  more  in  i8go);  No.  194  {Population 
by  Color,  Sex,  and  General  Nativity,  iSgo);  No.  379  ( Wealth  of 
the  United  States,  1S90).  Extra  Census  Bulletins:  No.  1  {In- 
crease and  Decrease  of  Population,  18S0,  jSgo);  No.  2  {Distribu- 
tio7i  of  Populatiofi  according  to  Density,  j8go).  The  areas  of 
States  are  given  on  the  authority  of  The  Continental  Atlas,  Phila- 
delphia, 1894.  The  statistics  of  illiteracy  come  from  the  Abstract 
of  the  Eleventh  Census,  1890,  while  the  educational  statistics 
proper  are  taken  generally  from  the  Report  of  the  Cotntnissioner 
of  Education.  1890-91. 


SOCIAL  FACTORS  IN  POPULAR  EDUCATION.   317 

as  the  average  density  of  settlement.  But  when  the 
county  is  of  unusual  size,  as,  for  example,  in  the  Cor- 
dilleran  region,  or  where  there  is  reason  to  think  the 
different  parts  of  the  county  differ  decidedly  in  density  of 
population,  it  is  not  treated  as  a  whole,  but  an  approxima- 
tion to  the  distribution  of  the  population  within  if;  is 
obtained  b}^  the  use  of  the  town  or  township  as  the  v.nit 
of  computation,  or  by  other  less  exact  means  in  case  this 
is  not  practicable.^ 

The  following  table  shows  the  areas  falling  within  the 
maxima  and  minima  of  population  designated: 

Population    2  to    6  to  a  square  mile 592,037  square  miles. 

OtolS    "         '  "    394,943       " 

18  to  45    "         '  "    701,847       " 

45  to  90    "         '  "    235,148       " 

90  and  above 24.312      " 

Total,  1,947,287 

The  several  groups  bear  to  one  another  the  ratios  of 
304,  202,  361,  121,  and  12.  That  is,  304  parts  out  of 
1,000  parts,  had  a  population  of  from  2  to  6  to  a  .square 
mile,  etc. 

These  statistics  have  a  manifest  economical  signifi- 
cance or  value,  as  the  Superintendent  of  the  Census  thus 
explains: 

These  limits  define  in  a  general  way  the  extent  and  prevalence 
of  various  classes  of  industries.  The  first  group,  2  to  6  to  a  square 
mile,  indicates  a  population  mainly  occupied  with  the  grazing 
industry,  or  a  widely  scattered  fanning  population.  The  second 
group,  6  to  18,  indicates  a  farming  population,  with  systematic 
cultivation  of  the  soil,  but  this  either  iu  an  early  stage  of  settle- 
ment or  upon  more  or  less  rugged  soil.  The  third  group,  18  to  45 
to  a  square  mile,  almost  universally  indicates  a  highly  successful 
agriculture,  while  in  some  localities  the  beginnings  of  manufac- 
tures have  raised  into  this  group  a  difficult  farming  region.  Spcak- 

»Extra  Census  Bulletin  No.  2. 


3l8  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

ing  generally,  agriculture  in  this  country  is  not  carried  on  with 
such  care  and  refinement  as  yet  to  afford  employment  and  sup- 
port to  a  population  in  excess  of  45  to  a  square  mile;  conse- 
quently, the  last  two  groups,  45  to  90  and  90  and  above  to  a  square 
mile,  appear  only  as  commerce  and  manufactures  arise  and  per- 
sonal and  professional  services  are  in  demand. 

While  territory  is  constantly  passing  from  lower  to 
higher  groups,  owing  to  increase  of  population,  the 
lower  groups,  save  in  a  single  decade,  have  constantly 
increased,  owing  to  the  enlargement  of  the  area  of  settle- 
ment. Still,  on  the  whole,  population  has  increased 
twice  as  fast  as  the  extent  of  territory  settled.  From  1790 
to  1890  the  one  rate  was  16-fold,  the  other  8-fold.  In 
1790  the  area  of  the  lowest  group  was  348  parts  and  the 
highest  3  parts,  in  1,111;  in  1840  the  same  ratios  were 
228  and  7;  and  in  1890,  304  and  12.  In  a  century  the 
area  included  in  group  one  increased  approximately  7- 
fold;  group  two,  5-fold;  group  three,  12-fold;  group 
four,  18- fold;  group  five,  30 -fold.  And  yet  the  highest 
stands  now  where  it  stood  in  1860,  and  is  lower  than  in 
1870  and  in  1880,  owing  to  the  rapid  passage  of  urban 
population  into  cities  in  the  most  thickly  inhabited 
parts  of  the  country.  Such,  at  least,  is  the  explanation 
put  forth  by  the  Superintendent  of  the  Census,  and  it 
\\ould  no  doubt  be  confirmed  by  an  examination  of  the 
facts. 

The  important  bearings  of  these  statistics  on  the  prob- 
lem of  popular  education  must  quickly  become  apparent  to 
every  mind.  Common  schools  are  for  the  people,  and 
they  are  dependent  upon  a  certain  densitj'  of  population, 
as  well  as  upon  other  material  factors.  In  populous 
districts  fewer  schools  are  called  for,  relatively,  while  the 
sy.stem  can  be  more  fully  developed,  owing  to  the  larger 
numbers  and  more  varied  attainments  of  the  children  who 


SOCIAL    FACTORS    TN    POPULAR    EDUCATION.        319 

are  to  be  taught.  The  school  must  be  within  a  certain 
distance  from  the  home,  or  the  child  will  attend  it  with 
difficulty  or  not  at  all.  And  finally,  the  interest  and 
enthusiasm  of  the  school  depend  in  a  degree  upon  the 
number  and  the  range  of  ability  of  the  scholars  present ; 
teachers  receive  something  from  the  children,  as  well  as 
give  something  to  them;  whence  it  follows,  as  a  rule,  that 
you  can  no  more  make  a  good  .school  with  a  handful  of 
scholars  than  you  can  make  a  good  fire  with  two  fagots  of 
wood  or  two  bits  of  coal.  It  is  therefore  with  excellent 
reason  that  a  competent  writer  on  popular  education  in 
France  finds  much  significance  in  the  facts  that  he  thus 
states:  "  Everywhere  the  population  now  tends  to  group 
itself  into  the  cities  and  large  villages.  In  France  the  low 
rate  of  increase  in  the  population  complicates  this  situation. 
The  rural  districts  are  depopulated,  and  there  is  difficulty 
in  finding  laborers  to  till  the  soil.'"  Experience  has 
proved  that  a  blizzard  is  an  educational  factor  that  has  to 
be  dealt  with  in  the  Dakotas. 

How  dense  the  population  of  an  American  vState  must 
be  in  order  to  create  the  conditions  essential  to  the  exist- 
ence of  an  efficient  school  system,  is  a  question  that,  if 
conducted  with  reference  to  ascertained  facts,  could  not 
fail  to  interest  every  student  of  American  society.  The 
practical  question  would  be,  "What  population  to  a 
square  mile  has  experience  shown  to  be  necessary  to  the 
existence  of  such  a  system  ?' '  Obviously,  a  population  of 
from  2  to  6  is  inadequate  for  the  purpose.  But  can  such 
a  system  be  fairly  expected  to  exist  where  the  population 
ranges  from  6  to  18  to  the  square  mile,  or  must  wc  wait 
until  we  strike  the  higher  grade  of  from  18  to  45  to  a 
square  mile?  To  be  sure,  this  is  not  the  only  factor  that 
enters  into  school  suppl)-  and  popular  education-    Density 

»  Parsons:  French  Schools  Through  American  Eyes,  p.  20. 


320  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

of  population,  wealth,  and  educational  interest  do  not 
stand  in  a  constant  ratio  to  one  another.  Besides,  the 
interval  between  the  density  of  the  most  thinly  populated 
districts  and  the  density  of  the  most  thickly  populated  is 
to  be  considered;  also  the  relative  sizes  and  geographical 
relations  of  these  districts.  Furthermore,  the  question 
whether  schools  shall  be  made  practically  a  township  or 
district  charge,  or  whether  large  appropriations  for  their 
support  shall  be  made  from  the  State  treasury,  is  an 
important  one.  For  example,  in  Massachusetts  school 
provision  is  almost  wholly  a  town  matter;  while  Pennsyl- 
vania distributes  from  the  State  treasury  among  the 
common  schools  ^5,000,000  a  year,  and  Ohio  and  Michi- 
gan the  proceeds  of  a  State  tax  of  one  mill  on  the  dollar 
of  the  grand  tax  duplicate  of  the  State.  But  here  again 
the  wealth  of  the  State  and  its  distribution  become  im- 
portant factors;  the  towns  of  Massachusetts  are  better 
able  to  provide  for  themselves  than  the  townships  of 
Michigan  would  be.  Still  another  factor  is  school  funds 
or  endowments;  but  as  these  resources,  for  the  most  part, 
are  at  first  in  the  form  of  wild  lands,  they  do  not  become 
available  more  rapidly  than  the  State  fills  up  with  popula- 
tion. When  all  is  said,  the  material  factors  of  popular 
education,  of  which  density  of  population  is  an  important 
one,  are  so  potent  that  educational  zeal  equal  to  that  of 
the  Scotch,  backed  by  all  their  force  of  character,  cannot 
fully  surmount  them. 

Such  an  investigation  as  I  have  suggested  is  foreign  to 
the  present  purpose;  and  I  must  content  myself  with 
remarking  that  sparseness  of  population  alone  will  long 
compel  rudimentary  school  sy.stems  in  large  settled  regions 
of  the  United  States,  at  least  as  measured  by  the  best 
foreign  and  domestic  standards.  Such  schools  as  those 
of  Saxony  or  of  Massachusetts  can  be   looked  for  only 


SOCIAL    FACTORS    IN    POPULAR    EDUCATION.         32I 

in  communities  that  at  least  approach  them  in  density 
of  population.  Already  the  declension  of  population 
in  many  parts  of  the  country  has  come  to  be  a  serious 
factor  in  the  common-school  problem.  From  1870  to  1880 
only  138  counties  fell  off  in  the  number  of  inhabitants; 
but  in  the  ensuing  decade,  455  fell  off,  about  50  of  them, 
however,  because  they  were  reduced  in  size.  The  lo.sses 
occurred  in  the  central  parts  of  Maine,  New  Hampshire, 
Vermont,  and  New  York,  Northern  New  Jersey,  and 
Eastern  Virginia,  and  were  scattered  quite  generally 
through  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Texas,  and  Kentucky. 
Southern  Michigan  and  Wisconsin  have  also  suffered, 
while  in  Eastern  Iowa  a  large  proportion  of  the  counties 
have  lost  population.  It  is  not  in  education  alone,  let  it  be 
remarked,  that  these  losses  signify  a  declension  of  civiliz- 
ing force;  they  are  of  much  significance  also  in  respect  to 
religion  and  church  life  and  the  whole  social  econom\-. 
Still  there  is  some  encouragement  in  the  fact  that  the 
tables  of  succeeding  censuses  sometimes  show  a  recovery, 
owing  to  the  introduction  of  new  industrial  conditions,  as 
the  establishment  of  commerce  and  manufactures  in  the 
room  of  exclusive  agricultural  employments. 

One  factor  may  be  referred  to  that  cannot  be  considered 
at  length.  This  is  means  of  communication.  The  number, 
the  convenience,  and  the  kind  of  roads  existing  in  an>- 
region  of  country  appreciably  effect  its  school  attendance. 
The  same  may  be  said  of  railroads,  horse  cars,  and  electric 
cars.  The  bicjxle  even  has  come  to  play  its  part.  Tlie 
more  abundant,  the  better,  and  the  cheaper  the  means  of 
communication,  ceteris  paribus,  the  farther  apart  school 
houses  can  be  placed,  and  the  more  remote  from  the  homes 
of  the  children,  thus  securing  concentration  of  attendance 
with  its  accompanying  benefits.  There  is  reason  to  think 
that  many  States  will  commit  themselves  to  the  plan  of 


322  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

reducing  the  number  of  schools  in  their  more  populous 
parts,  placing  them  at  the  most  eligible  points,  and  then 
carrying  the  children,  or  at  least  such  of  them  as  stand  in 
need  of  being  carried,  to  and  from  the  school  at  the  public 
expense.  There  can  be  little  question  that  in  this  way 
the  schools  could  be  improved  and  money  at  the  same  time 
be  saved.  This  has  apparently  been  shown  by  the  trial 
of  the  plan  in  Massachusetts.  There  can  be  little  doubt 
that  means  of  communication  will  play  an  increasing  part 
in  popular  education  in  the  future. 

To  make  the  argument  more  definite,  we  may  compare 
the  two  oldest  sections  of  the  Union  in  respect  to  density 
of  population.  The  nine  North  Atlantic  States  contain 
168,655  square  miles  of  territory,  which  is  thus  dis- 
tributed in  respect  to  population: 

Population    2  to    6  to  the  square  mile 11,759  square  miles. 

6  to  18     "  "         "    10,000 

18  to  45     "  "        "    45,733 

45  to  90     "  "         "    69,267 

90  and  above         "         "    19,824 

Total  settled  area,  156,682;  unsettled,  11,973. 

The  South  Atlantic  States  contain  a  total  area  of  282,- 
555  square  miles,  which  is  thus  distributed: 

Population    2  to    6  to  a  square  mile 19,854  square  miles. 

6  to  18      "        "         "    55,675 

18to45      "        "         "    143,962 

45  to  90      "        "         "    35,152 

90  and  above      "         "    902        "         " 

Total  settled  area,  255,455;  unsettled,  27,100. 

If  we  hold  that  a  population  of  less  than  18  to  a  square 
mile,  or  648  to  a  Congressional  township,  does  not,  as  a 
rule,  furnish  a  suitable  basis  for  a  good  school  system, 
then  in  the  onegroupof  States  we  should  throw  out  a  little 
more  than  one-eighth  of  the  settled  area,   while  in  the 


SOCIAL  FACTORS  IN  POPULAR  EDUCATION.    323 

other  we  should  throw  out  nearly  one-third.  Or,  to  put 
the  facts  in  another  way,  while  the  North  Atlantic  States 
have  about  six-elevenths  of  the  settled  area  of  the  South 
Atlantic  States,  and  double  the  population,  they  contain 
more  than  twentj^  times  the  area  having  a  population  of  90 
and  over  to  the  square  mile,  and  double  the  area  falling  into 
the  group  of  from  45  to  90.  In  the  group  18  to  45  to  the 
square  mile,  the  ratio  is  about  4  to  1  in  favor  of  the  South. 
The  contrast  would  be  even  more  striking  if  we  were  to 
present  the  statistics  for  the  several  States  separately. 
For  example,  Massachusetts  has  no  territory  that  falls  into 
either  the  first  or  .second  group,  while  the  areas  that  fall 
into  the  third,  fourth,  and  fifth  groups  respectively  are 
959,  4,149,  3,932  square  miles.  Virginia,  on  the  other 
hand,  has  no  territory  that  falls  into  either  the  first 
or  the  fifth  group,  while  the  figures  for  the  second, 
third,  and  fourth  groups  are  3,109,  29,895,  and  7,122 
square  miles  respectively.  Moreover,  this  is  taking 
no  account  of  cities,  which  cut  a  great  figure  as  we  shall 
soon  see. 

The  average  population  of  the  North  Atlantic  vStates 
to  the  square  mile  was  as  follows:  Maine,  20;  New  Hamp- 
shire, 40.4;  Vermont,  34.4;  Massachusetts,  269.2;  Rhode 
Island,  276.4;  Connecticut,  149.5;  New  York,  121.9;  New 
Jersey,  184.8;  Pennsylvania,  116.2.  The  New  England 
States  together  reached  the  high  average  of  70.7;  New 
York,  Pennsylvania,  and  New  Jersey,  together,  the  still 
higher  average  of  124.2  to  the  square  mile. 

The  South  Atlantic  States  presented  the  following 
averages:  Delaware,  82.1;  Maryland,  85.3;  District  of 
Columbia,  3,291.3;  Virginia.  39;  West  Virginia,  30.7; 
North  Carolina,  30.9;  South  Carohna,  37.6;  Georgia, 
30.9f  Florida,  6.6.  The  aveiage  population  of  these 
States  was  31.3  to  the  square  mile. 


324  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

But  we  must  approach  this  aspect  of  the  subject  more 
closely.  In  1890  the  United  States,  not  including  Alaska, 
contained  3,024,880  square  miles  of  territory;  62,622,250 
people,  and  443  cities  of  8,000  inhabitants  or  more  each. 
Of  the  total  population,  18,235,670  dwelt  in  the  443 
cities,  or  29.12  per  cent  of  the  whole.  Related  as  these 
elements  are,  they  nevertheless  present  no  constant  ratios. 
Population  is  distributed  with  little  regard  to  area, 
cities  with  little  regard  to  either  area  or  population,  and 
urban  population  with  little  regard  to  any  of  the  other 
factors.  The  North  Atlantic  States  contained  one- 
eighteenth  of  the  area,  three-elevenths  of  the  population, 
three-sevenths  of  the  cities,  and  nearly  one-half  of 
the  urban  population.  The  South  Atlantic  States,  in- 
cluding the  District  of  Columbia,  contained  one-eleventh 
of  the  square  miles,  one-seventh  of  the  people,  one-thir- 
teenth of  the  cities,  and  about  the  same  proportion  of  the 
urban  population.  However,  if  the  cities  of  Baltimore 
and  Washington,  with  a  total  population  of  565,831,  were 
withdrawn,  the  ratio  of  urban  population  at  the  South  to 
the  whole  population  would  be  very  materially  diminished. 
Probably  more  people  live  in  Philadelphia  to-day  than  in 
all  the  cities  of  the  South  Atlantic  States,  Washington 
excluded.  Were  we  to  carry  the  inquiry  further,  we 
should  encounter  some  striking  contrasts.  For  example. 
New  Jersey,  with  an  area  of  7,815  square  miles,  and  a 
population  of  1,443,943,  had  20  cities  with  780,978  inhab- 
itants, while  Mississippi,  with  an  area  of  46,810  square 
miles  and  a  population  of  1,289,600,  had  only  three  cities 
with  a  total  population  of  only  34,098  ! 

These  statistics  present  to  our  study  a  new  factor  in 
popular  education,  vnz  :  the  city.  What  was  before  said 
relative  to  the  number  of  children  that  can  be  collected  in 
the  same  school  houses,   and  the  distance  of  the  school 


SOCIAL    FACTORS    IN    POPULAR    EDUCATION,        325 

houses  one  from  another  and  from  the  homes  of  the  chil- 
dren, appHes  to  the  city  with  more  than  double  force. 
Here  it  is  that  the  conditions  of  numbers  and  attendance, 
in  connection  with  other  factors,  have  partl}^  permitted 
and  partly  compelled  the  great  improvements  that  have 
been  made  in  popular  education  in  the  last  generation, 
and  that  it  has  been  found,  in  some  cases  impossible,  and 
in  all  cases  difficult,  to  introduce  into  the  rural  districts, 
viz. ,  new  methods  of  teaching  and  control,  better  organiza- 
tion, classification,  and  supervision,  fuller  development 
both  in  the  elementary  grades  and  in  the  high  school,  as 
well  as  the  city  training  school,  industrial  education, 
manual  training,  household  economy,  the  kindergarten, 
and  evening  schools.  These  remarks  will  perhaps  suf- 
ficiently illuminate  the  following  statistics: — 

In  1890  the  North  Atlantic  States  together  had  an 
urban  population  of  51.58  per  cent,  of  their  whole  popu- 
lation, viz.:  Maine  19.72,  New  Hampshire  27. -^7,  Ver- 
mont 7.93,  Massachusetts  69.90,  Rhode  Island  78.89. 
Connecticut  50.58,  New  York  59.50,  New  Jersey  54.05, 
Pennsylvania  40.73  per  cent. 

The  South  Atlantic  States  had  an  urban  population  of 
16.04  per  cent,  of  their  whole  number,  viz- :  Delaware 
36.46,  Maryland  44.65,  District  of  Columbia  100,  Virginia 
13.40,  West  Virginia  7.02,  North  Carolina  3.87,  South 
Carolina 6.86,  Georgia  10.84,  Florida  12.02  percent. 

Unfortunately,  in  large  portions  of  the  Union  popular 
education  is  still  further  complicated  by  the  race  question. 
In  1390  the  white  population  of  the  country  was  54,983,- 
890,  or  87.80  per  cent,  of  whole;  the  colored  population, 
including  negroes,  Chinese,  Japanese,  and  civilized 
Indians,  7,638,360.  or  12.20  percent,  of  the  whole.  For 
our  purpose  we  may  say  that  one-eighth   of    the  whole 


326  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

population  were  negroes.  Once  more,  the  colored  popu- 
lation was  very  unequally  distributed.  The  percents  of 
white  and  colored  respectivel}-  were  as  follows: 

North  Atlantic  States 98.4  1.6 

South  Atlantic  States 63.2  36.8 

North  Central  States 98.  2. 

South  Central  States 68.3  31.7 

Western  Division 04.8  5.2 

These  statistics  become  still  more  significant  when  we 
analyze  the  several  groups.  In  the  North  Atlantic  States 
the  smallest  per  cent,  of  colored  population  was  in  New 
Hampshire,  0.18;  the  largest  in  New  Jersey,  3.35;  in  the 
South  Atlantic  States  the  smallest  per  cent,  was  in  Dela- 
ware, 16.87  (excluding  West  Virginia,  which  might  more 
properly  be  considered  as  belonging  to  the  South  Central 
group),  the  largest  in  South  Carolina,  59.87. 

The  educational  significance  of  these  stati.stics  is  ap- 
preciated by  all  .students  of  education  who  have  a  .socio- 
logical turn;  but  it  is  not  appreciated  by  the  public  at 
large,  certainly  not  by  the  people  of  the  North,  and  prob- 
ably not  b}'  the  people  of  the  South.  North  of  Mason 
and  Dixon's  line  the  race  question  is  hardly  an  appreci- 
able factor  in  current  educational  history.  The  per  cent, 
of  colored  children  is  so  small  that  it  is  practicallj^  lost 
sight  of  in  the  mass.  The  white  and  the  colored  children, 
where  colored  ones  are  found,  commonly  attend  the  same 
school;  and  so  it  has  been  in  many  cases  from  the 
establishment  of  the  public  school  sy.stems.  Some  of  these 
States  once  had  laws  authorizing  .school  authorities  to 
provide  separate  schools  for  colored  children,  but  the 
last  of  these,  it  is  believ^ed,  have  disappeared  from  the 
statute  book.  But  at  the  South  the  case  is  far  different. 
Provisions  .similar  to  Section  207  of  the  present  Constitu- 
tion  of  Mississippi,  adopted  in   1890,  are  found   in  many 


SOCIAL  FACTORS  IN  POPULAR  EDUCATION.    327 

of  the  Southern  State  Constitutions,  viz.:  "Separate 
schools  shall  be  maintained  for  children  of  the  white  and 
colored  races' ' ;  and  in  the  States  where  the  Constitution 
is  silent  on  this  point,  the  law  speaks  no  less  decisively. 
Hence  it  is  that,  save  executive  machinery,  there  are  in 
every  one  of  these  States  two  systems  of  public  schools, 
more  or  less  developed,  one  for  white  and  one  for  colored 
children.  For  the  present,  this  state  of  things  is  inevit- 
able, and  no  doubt  it  will  long  remain  inevitable.  To  put 
it  in  the  mildest  form,  social  conditions  impose  it  upon 
the  South.  Now  at  what  cost,  both  of  efficiency  and  of 
money,  public  education  must  be  maintained  in  these 
States,  words  are  hardly  necessary  to  tell.  In  large  cities, 
where  the  youth  of  either  race  are  counted  by  the  thou- 
sand, a  fair  grade  of  education  may  possibly  be  kept  up 
in  both  classes  of  schools;  but  in  the  small  cities  and 
villages,  and  still  more  in  the  rural  districts,  this  will  be 
found  difficult.  Other  things  being  equal,  a  homogeneous 
population  is  favorable  to  the  support  of  good  schools. 
Accordingly,  the  small  percentage  of  colored  population 
in  such  States  as  New  Hampshire  and  Maine,  and  the 
large  percentage  in  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  cannot  be 
overlooked  in  the  study  of  educational  conditions  in  those 
States.  The  presence  of  a  large  colored  population  affects 
education  unfavorably  in  several  ways:  it  reduces  materi- 
ally the  per  capita  wealth  that  is  available  for  educational 
and  other  public  purposes;  it  increases  the  cost  of  efficient 
education,  by  making  necessary  two  systems  of  schools; 
it  lowers  the  general  level  of  intellectual  and  moral  life. 
Some  of  the  Southern  States  have  put  in  their  Consti- 
tutions provisions  Hke  the  following,  quoted  from  the 
Constitution  of  Kentucky  (adopted  in  1891),  Section  194: 
"In  distributing  the  school  fund  no  distinction  shall  be 
made  on  account  of  race  or  color."  This  is  coupled,  how- 


328  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

ever,  with  the  further  provision,  "and  separate  schools 
for  white  and  colored  children  shall  be  maintained;"  and 
some  of  the  States,  and  perhaps  all  of  them,  have  made 
like  provisions  in  their  laws.  We  need  not  question  the 
sincerity  of  these  declarations;  but  if,  under  all  the  cir- 
cumstances, the  colored  race  does  not  suffer  in  the  com- 
petition it  will  be  the  first  time  in  history  that  the  strong, 
on  so  extensive  a  scale,  have  put  the  weak  on  an  equality 
with  themselves.  We  have  not  yet  discovered  how  far- 
reaching  were  De  Tocqueville's  remarks  about  slavery, 
made  in  1830.  After  observing  that  in  antiquity  the 
master  and  the  slave  belonged  to  the  same  race,  that 
freedom  was  the  only  difference  between  them,  and  that, 
as  soon  as  the  slave  was  emancipated,  the  prejudice  that 
his  previous  servile  condition  had  created  tended  at  once 
to  disappear,  he  proceeded  to  point  out  how  different  it  is 
in  modern  times. 

The  greatest  difficult}'  in  antiquity  was  that  of  altering  the  law; 
amongst  the  moderns  it  is  that  of  altering  the  manners;  and,  as 
far  as  we  are  concerned,  the  real  obstacles  begin  Avhere  those  of 
the  ancients  left  off.  This  arises  from  the  circumstance  that, 
amongst  the  moderns,  the  abstract  and  transient  fact  of  slavery  is 
fatally  united  with  the  physical  and  permanent  fact  of  color.  The 
condition  dishonors  the  race,  and  the  peculiaritj-  of  the  race  per- 
petuates the  tradition  of  slavery.     The  modern  slave  differs  from 

his  master  not  only  in  his  condition,  but  in  his  origin 

The  moderns,  then,  after  they  have  abolished  slaverj',  have  three 
prejudices  to  contend  against,  which  are  less  easy  to  attack  and 
far  less  easy  to  conquer,  than  the  mere  fact  of  servitude — the  pre- 
judice of  the  master,  the  prejudice  of  the  race,  and  the  prejudice  of 
color.  ^ 

We  come  now  to  another  factor.  The  census-takers  of 
1890  reported  the  true  valuation  of  property  in  the  United 

'  Democracy  in  America.  Translated  by  Henry  Reeve,  Chap. 
XVIII. 


SOCIAL    FACTORS    IN    POPULAR    EDrCATIOX. 


329 


States  at  165,037,000,000.  Census  Bulletin  No.  379 
presents  many  facts  of  interest  relating  to  this  subject, 
some  of  which  are  not  a  little  surprising.  The  following 
table  shows  the  distribution  of  this  wealth  by  groups  of 
States;  also  the  average/)^?-  capita  of  the  population. 

TOT.\L.  PER  C.\PITA. 

North  Atlantic   States $21,435,491,000        81,132 

South  Atlantic  Division 5,132,980,00(1  579 

North  Central  States 25,255,915,000  1,129 

South  Central  States 6,401,281,000  583 

Western  vStates 6,811,422,000  2,250 

The  average  for  the  whole  country  was  $1,039  per 
capita.  The  surprising  average  of  the  Western  Division 
is  explained  by  the  smallness  of  the  population  of  those 
States,  and  the  vast  aggregate  of  real  property,  very 
much  of  which  is  unproductive.  But  let  us  return  to  the 
two  groups  of  States  that  have  furnished  our  principal 
comparisons  throughout. 

These  are  the  averages  of  wealth  of  the  North  Atlantic 
States:  Maine  $740;  New  Hampshire  8863;  Vermont  8799; 
Massachusetts  81,252;  Rhode  Island  81,459;  Connecticut 
81,119;  New  York  11,430;  New  Jersey  81,000;  Pennsyl- 
vania 81,170. 

And  these  of  the  South  Atlantic  States:  Delaware 
81,043;  Maryland  81,041;  District  of  Columbia  81,491; 
Virginia  8521;  West  Virginia  8575;  North  Carolina  831)1; 
South  Carolina  834^;  Georgia  8464;  Florida  8995. 

The  maximum  at  the  North  is  found  in  Rhode  Island, 
%\,^':i^  per  capita;  the  minimum  in  Maine,  Ki\^  per  capita. 
The  maximum  at  the  south  (excluding  the  District  of 
Columbia)  is  found  in  Delaware,  $1,043;  the  minimum 
in  South  Carolina,  8348.  Only  three  of  the  Northern 
States  fall  below  an  average  of  81,000;  only  two  of  the 
Southern  States  reach  that  average. 


330  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

No  one  who  is  familiar  with  the  enormous  cost  of  a 
liberal  and  efficient  system  of  State  education  at  the  pres- 
ent time,  can  fail  to  see  at  a  glance  the  educational  bearings 
of  these  statistics.  The  amount  of  money  that  the  States 
together  now  expend  upon  common  schools  annually  is 
fully  equal  to  twice  the  largest  expenditure  of  the  National 
Government  for  all  purposes  in  any  single  3'ear  previous 
to  the  Civil  War;*  and  if  the  standard  set  by  some  of  the 
States  were  maintained  throughout,  this  sum  would  be 
very  greatly  increased.  It  will  be  found  instructive  care- 
fully to  compare  the  following  table,  showing  the  total 
expenditure  for  common  schools  by  divisions  of  States, 
in  1890,  the  expenditure  per  capita,  and  the  average  per 
pupil  with  the  table  given  above  showing  the  aggregate 
wealth  of  the  divisions,  and  the  wealth /^r  capita. 

TOTAIy.    PER  CAPITA.    PER  PUPIi,. 

North  Atlantic  States $48,006,369        82.76        $23.65 

South  Atlantic  States 8,519,873  .96  8.25 

South  Central  States 10,790,864  .98  7.59 

North  Central  States 62,823,563  2.81  19.96 

Western  States 10,130,815  3  35  34  03 

The  high  averages  of  the  Western  States  are  explained 
by  the  sparseness  of  the  population  and  the  high  salaries 
paid  to  teachers.  Thus  in  Ohio,  the  average  expenditure 
for  school  purposes  is  12.93  and  the  average  expenditure 
for  tuition  is  ll.GO  per  capita  of  the  population  wdiile  in 
California  the  same  items  are  14.29  and  $3.  Or,  to  put 
in  another  form,  Ohio  tuition  is  $12.70  per  pupil  annually; 
California  tuition  824.98. 

A  careful  inquir)^  into  the  cost  of  public  education  in 
cities  could  not  fail  to  be  instructive  and  interesting.  It 
has  already  been  remarked  that  density  of  population 
favors  combination  and  organization,  and  .so  conduces  to 

'  Commissioner  Harris  re])orts  the  total  common  school  expen- 
diture for  the  year  1S90-91  at  SI  tr.,oOO,000.     vSce  Report,  p.  2. 


SOCIAL    FACTORS    IX    POPULAR    EDUCATION.         33 1 

economy  of  expenditure.  This  is  on  the  supposition,  how- 
ever, that  the  range  and  scale  of  education  remain  the 
same  in  such  populations.  But  this  is  not  the  case.  The 
city  demands  a  longer  school  year,  and  a  more  fully 
differentiated  system.  What  this  means  in  money-co.st, 
could  be  very  easily  shown.  The  District  of  Columbia, 
which  is  the  City  of  Washington,  expends  $3. 92 /<?rfa/!»z/a 
of  her  population  for  .schools,  or  an  average  of  -^32.14 
per  pupil;  both  of  which  sums  exceed  the  similar  items 
presented  by  an>-  of  the  States,  save  those  found  in  the 
Western  group.  The  cost  of  public  education,  measured 
both  by  the  population  and  by  the  school  attendance  of 
large  cities,  will  commonlj^  or  always,  be  found  higher, 
and  sometimes  much  higher,  than  that  of  the  States  in 
which  the  cities  are  found. 

Now,  it  would  be  quite  too  much  to  say  that  the  cost  of 
education  always  measures  its  value,  or  that  the  expendi- 
tures which  the  States  make  for  schools  alwa.ws  vary 
directly  with  the  average  wealth,  or  in  the  same  ratio. 
Educational  ideals  and  traditions  assert  themseh-es,  not  to 
speak  of  other  material  factors.  Rhode  Island  is  a 
richer  community  than  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  or 
New  York,  but  she  falls  behind  those  States  in  her  per 
capita  expenditure  for  schools.  Virginia  is  but  little 
behind  West  Virginia  in  average  wealth,  but  she  is  far 
behind  in  popular  education.  The  educational  expendi- 
tures of  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  aud  Georgia  are 
not  commensurate  with  their  educational  resources.  At 
the  same  time,  a  general  correspondence  is  observable.  At 
the  North,  Massachusetts,  which  is  second  only  to  Rhode 
Island  and  New  York  in  average  wealth,  leads  the  other 
States  in  relative  school  expenditures;  while  Maine,  tlu- 
poorest  of  these  States,  stands  at  the  foot  of  the  list.  At 
the  South,  Maryland  spends  more  money  per  capita  for 


332  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

education  than  any  other  State,  and  she  is  also  richer 
than  any  other;  South  CaroHna  spends  least  of  all  and 
she  is  the  poorest  of  all.  We  may  conclude,  therefore, 
that  between  wealth  and  schools  a  relation  exists  similar 
to  that  between  population  and  schools.  If  such  .schools  as 
those  of  Saxony  and  Massachusetts  cannot  be  looked  for  in 
thinl}'  populated  States,  neither  can  they  be  in  poor  States. 
Furthermore  the  ratio  of  taxpayers,  or  of  adult  males, 
to  the  number  of  children  to  be  schooled,  is  an  important 
matter.  Taking  the  country  as  a  whole,  there  are  91  f*o 
tax-payers  for  each  100  children  5  to  18  years  of  age;  but 
in  different  sections  the  ratio  varies  from  65 -i\  to  100,  in 
the  South  Central  States,  to  156-iV  to  100  in  the  Western 
States.  In  South  Carolina  there  are  but  55  adult  males 
to  earn  the  money  with  which  to  .school  100  children,  and 
33  of  these  are  colored  men.  Combining  the  taxpaj'er 
factor  and  the  per  capita  tax,  some  very  striking  results 
are  obtained.  Dr.  Harris  informs  us  that  in  Montana  a 
contribution  of  $5.85  per  taxpayer  furnishes  $16.02  for 
each  child  of  school  age,  while  in  Texas  a  contribution 
of  $6.55  per  taxpayer  produces  a  result  of  only  $4.48 
for  each  child.  Mississippi,  after  raising,  per  taxpayer, 
about  half  what  Nevada  raises,  has  only  about  one-eighth 
as  much  as  the  latter  State  for  each  child  of  school  age.^ 
The  causes  that  affect  the  ratio  of  school  children  to  the 
adult  male  population  are  beside  the  present  inquiry.  It 
is  ol)vioi:s,  however,  that  this  is  an  educational  factor  of 
much  importance.^ 


>  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Ediication,  j8go-iSgi,  p.  24. 

2  Considered  in  the  light  of  the  facts  and  views  now  presented, 
certain  provisions  in  some  of  the  State  school  laws  become  ex- 
tremely significant.  For  example,  the  laws  of  Alabama  provided 
a  few  years  ago:  When  only  one  public  school  is  established  in  a 
township,  it  must  be  so  located  as  to  accommodate  the  largest 


SOCIAL    FACTORS    IN    POPULAR    EDUCATION.        333 

The  view  would  be  incomplete,  even  within  the  scope 
of  the  present  limits,  unless  something  were  said  of  the 
portentous  subject  of  illiteracy.  The  following  table 
shows  the  per  cents  of  illiterate  persons,  ten  years  of  age 
and  over,  white,  colored,  and  total,  in  the  several  groups 
of  States  and  in  the  whole  country.  The  base  of  the 
several  computations  is  the  total  inimber  of  such  persons, 
ten  years  of  age  and  upwards,  in  the  several  groups  of 
the  States  and  in  the  United  States. 

WHITE.  COLORED.   TOTAL. 

North  Atlantic 5.9  24.2  6.2 

South  Atlantic 19.5  75.1  40.3 

North  Central 5.9  41.2  (5.7 

South  Central 21.0  76.  39.5 

Western 8  8  33.2  11.3 

UnitedStates 9.4  70.  17. 

number  of  pupils;  but  the  location  may  be  changed  from  year  to 
year  so  as  to  accommodate  those  children  who  were  not  within 
reach  of  the  school  in  previous  years.  Preference  should  be  given 
to  localities  having  a  schoolhouse  already  built  or  a  site  procured. 
If  more  than  one  school  for  each  race  be  needed  in  a  township, 
more  may  be  established  by  the  local  school  officer.  Preference 
in  locating  schools  should  be  given  to  the  communities  which  will 
supplement  the  district  revenue,  with  the  ol)ject  of  sustaining  free 
schools  for  so  long  a  session  as  possible.  No  more  than  two 
schools  for  either  race  can  be  opened  in  an}-  township  wherein  the 
school  revenue  for  said  race  does  not  exceed  $50.  The  school 
revenue  of  each  township  is  apportioned  as  nearly  as  practicable 
per  capita  of  the  probable  school  attendance.  Children  may  be 
transferred  to  schools  in  other  than  their  own  school  districts, 
but  they  carry  their  share  of  the  school  revenue  with  them;  and 
if,  after  deliberation,  it  is  determined  not  to  have  one  public 
school  for  each  race  opened  in  a  township,  and  the  children  of  the 
race,  so  left  without  a  school,  cannot  be  transferred  readily  to 
another  school  district,  their  share  of  the  school  revenue  shall  be 
paid  to  the  parents  or  guardians  of  said  children;  provided  said 
children  attend  some  other  school  the  same  length  of  time.— 
Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Education,  1885-86,  p.  24. 


334 


STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 


THE  NORTH  ATLANTIC  STATES. 

STATES.                                  WHITE.  COI^ORED.  TOTAL. 

Maine 5.4  31.8  5.5 

New  Hampshire 6.8  23.3  (5.8 

Vermont 6.7  21.3  6.7 

Massachusetts 6.1  15.4  6.2 

Rhode  Island 9.6  18.5  8.8 

Connecticut 5.1  15.8  5.3 

New  York 5.4  18.4  5.5 

New  Jersey 5.7  24.4  6.5 

Pennsylvania 6.4  22.2  6.8 


SOUTH   ATLANTIC  STATES. 


STATE.  WHITE. 

Delaware 7.4 

Maryland..* 7. 

District  of  Columbia 2.7 

Virginia 13.9 

West  Virginia 13. 

North  Carolina 23. 

South  Carolina 17.9 

Georgia 16.3 

Florida 11.3 


COLORED. 

TOTAL. 

49.5 

14.3 

50.1 

15.7 

35. 

13.2 

57.2 

30.2 

44.4 

14.4 

60.1 

35.7 

64.1 

45. 

69.3 

39.8 

50.6 


27.8 


The  District  of  Columbia  presents  the  lowest  rate  of 
white  illiteracy  found  in  the  table  given  by  the  census 
authorities.  Of  the  States,  the  minimum  per  cent  of 
illiterates  of  the  total  population  ten  years  of  age  and 
upwards  is  found  in  Nebraska,  3.1;  the  maximum  in 
Louisiana,  45.8. 

A  series  of  charts  that  should  adequately  represent  the 
principal  groups  of  social  factors  entering  into  popular  edu- 
cation in  the  United  States  would  be  very  striking.  For 
example,  the  following,  among  other  results,  would  ap- 
pear: 


SOCIAL    FACTORS    IX    POPULAR    EDUCATION.        335 

I.     Density  of  population  per  square  mile  of  area. 
North  Atlantic  vStates,  108.2. 
South  Atlantic  States,  3L3. 

II.     Per  cent,  of  urban  population. 

North  Atlantic  States,  51.58. 
South  Atlantic  States,  16.04. 

III.  Per  cent,  of  white  population. 

North  Atlantic  States,  98.4. 
South  Atlantic  States,  63.2. 

IV.  ^Qalih.  per  capita. 

North  Atlantic  States,  5;1,132. 
South  Atlantic  States,  $579. 

V.     Amount  of  money  raised  for  schools  per  tax  payer. 

North  Atlantic  States,  $9.73. 
South  Atlantic  States,  $4.48. 

VI.     Amount  raised  for  each  child  of  the  school  population. 
North  Atlantic  States,  $11.13 
vSouth  Atlantic  States,  $3  00. 

VII.     Number  of  adult  males  to  each  100  children.  5  to  18  years 
of  age. 

North  Atlantic  States,  114.4. 
South  Atlantic  States,  66.8. 

VIII.     School  expenditure/*^;'  capita  of  the  whole  population. 

North  Atlantic  States.  $2. 76. 
South  Atlantic  States,  $0.96. 

IX.     School  expenditure  per  pupil. 

North  Atlantic  States,  $23.65. 
vSouth  Atlantic  vStates,  $8.25. 

X,     Per  cent,  school  population  was  of  the  total  population. 
North  Atlantic  States,  25.39. 
South  Atlantic  States,  34.04. 

XI.     Number  of  children  enrolled  for  every  100  children  5  to  IS 
years  of  age. 

North  Atlantic  States,  70. 
South  Atlantic  States,  59.47. 


336  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

XII.     Average  number  of  pupils   attending  daily  for   every  100 
enrolled  during  the  year. 
North  Atlantic  States,  66. 
South  Atlantic  States,  62. 

XIII.  Average  school  term  in  days. 

North  Atlantic  States,  168. 
South  Atlantic  States,  99.6. 

XIV.  IlUterac}'  per  cent,  of  the  total  number  of  persons  of  the 

several  descriptions,  ten  years  of  age  and  upwards,  who 

are  illiterate. 

WHITE.   COLORED.   TOTAL. 

North  Atlantic  States 5.9  24.2  6.2 

South  Atlantic  States 19.5  75.1  40.3 

The  statistics  that  have  been  presented,  which  are  but 
a  few  of  the  many  that  are  available  for  the  purpose,  are 
capable  of  being  combined  in  many  interesting  ways. 
They  also  suggest  many  valuable  reflections,  of  which  a 
few  will  be  set  down  in  order. 

1.  It  is  very  observable  that  the  several  social  factors 
enumerated  tend  strongly  to  vary  directly  one  with  an- 
other, thus  furnishing  a  striking  illustration  of  the  unity 
and  coherence  of  society.  The  statistics  also  show  that 
efforts  which  are  apparently  remote  from  popular  educa- 
tion really  affect  it  very  decisiveh\ 

2.  It  is  manifest  that  popular  education  in  the  United 
States  as  a  whole  must,  for  a  time,  be  carried  on  under 
unfavorable  conditions.  Our  vast  territory,  our  sparse- 
ness  of  population  in  large  sections  of  the  Union,  the 
physical  conditions  that  will  apparently  long  prevent  dens- 
ity of  population,  and  a  diversity  of  races,  to  say  noth- 
ing of  economical,  social,  and  educational  ideals  and 
traditions,  must  all  work  to  that  end. 

3.  It  is  quite  absurd  to  compare  such  a  country  as  ours 
in  respect  to  education  with  the  States  of  Germany,  say 


SOCIAL    FACTORS    IN    POPULAR    EDUCATION.        337 

Saxony  or  Prussia,  where  the  conditions  are  so  widely 
different.  In  the  German  States  ilhteracy  has  been 
practically  annihilated ;  but  in  our  country  it  must  lon^: 
remain  a  serious  factor  in  our  civilization.  Ma.s.sachu.setts 
might  be  fairly  compared  with  Saxony,  or  the  United 
States  with  Western  Europe  as  a  whole. 

4.  In  the  future,  one  cause  that  has  greatly  retarded 
popular  education,  will  become  relatively  less  and  less 
prominent.  From  1880  to  1890  the  white  population 
increased  24.67  per  cent.;  the  colored  population  13.90 
per  cent.  What  is  more,  it  is  becoming  apparent  that  the 
race  question  will  not  prove  a  disturbing  influence  beyond 
the  present  geographicallimits,  and  that  within  these  lim- 
its it  will  tend  toward  a  vimimum. 

5.  It  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  logic  of  this  paper 
dooms  our  country,  or  any  large  part  of  it  that  shall  be- 
come permanently  settled,  to  ignorance.  Great  as  are  the 
obstacles  that  confront  us,  they  are  not  insurmountable. 
Even  as  it  is,  marked  progress  has  been  made  in  twenty- 
five  5-ears.  The  National  Commissioner  well  says  that, 
taking  all  the  facts  into  the  account,  it  cannot  but  be  a 
matter  of  satisfaction  that  public  education  has  made  .such 
progress  in  the  South  since  the  war  as  has  actuallj^  been 
the  case.  Still  it  is  perfectly  obvious  that  many  of  our 
States  cannot  reach  and  maintain  a  high  level  of  popular 
education  without  great  efforts  and  sacrifices.  It  is  no  ex- 
aggeration to  say  that  this  end  cannot  be  secured  without 
a  scale  of  expenditures  which,  measured  by  the  existing 
wealth  and  wealth-producing  population,  would  exceed 
anything  now  .seen  in  this  country,  or  probably  in  the 
world. 

6.  The  last  observation  is  that  education,  under  its  prac- 
tical aspects,  cannot  be  discussed  as  a  question  by  itself 
l,egislatures,  boards  of  education,  school  administrators, 


338  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION, 

and  all  organs  of  educational  opinion  should  take 
education  in  connection  with  the  whole  social  and  in- 
tellectual environment, — population,  wealth,  commerce, 
industry,  the  genius  and  traditions  of  the  people,  and 
philosophical,  religious,  and  moral  ideas.  The  funda- 
mental idea  in  an  educational  system  must  be  the  provision 
of  elementary  education  for  the  State  or  locality;  but  this 
idea  does  not  exclude  special  adaptations  to  particular 
conditions.  The  manufactures  and  trade  of  New  Jersey, 
the  wheat  culture  of  the  Dakotas,  the  mines  of  Colorado, 
all  become  educational  factors.  Some  recognition  is 
extended  to  these  factors  now;  and  as  society  becomes 
more  complex,  particularly  as  industry  and  trade  become 
more  diversified,  this  recognition  will  no  doubt  become 
still  greater 


XVII. 

TWENTY  YEARS  OF  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS 
IN  ROME. 

HE  church  of  S.  Clemente,  standing  on  the  via 
di  S.  Giovanni  in  I^aterano,  which  leads  from 
the  Colosseum  to  S.  John  Lateran,  is  no  unfit 
type  of  the  city  of  which  it  is  such  an  interest- 
ing feature.  Entering  the  church  by  a  side  door  upon 
the  street,  and  passing  on  through  nave,  aisles,  and 
chapel  (in  which  last  are  found  interesting  frescoes  by 
Masaccio),  you  descend  a  wide  marble  stair  to  a  second 
church  beneath  the  present  one.  This  old  church — so 
runs  the  tradition— was  built  in  the  time  of  Constantine 
the  Great,  on  a  spot  of  peculiar  interest  to  the  ecclesias- 
tical mind.  It  was  ruined — so  the  tradition  runs  again — 
in  108-4,  when  Robert  Guiscard,  coming  to  the  rescue  of 
Pope  Gregory  VII.,  burned  the  public  buildings  from  the 
Capitol  to  the  Lateran.  But  so  sacred  a  spot  could  not 
be  left  waste  and  vacant:  a  new  church,  less  imposing 
and  of  smaller  dimensions  than  the  first  one,  was  built 
before  the  close  of  the  century,  or  at  least  a  pope  appears 
to  have  been  elected  within  its  walls  in  1099.  Tne 
builders  of  the  new  structure  did  not  take  the  pains  to 
clear  away  the  remains  of  the  old  one;  they  rather  did 
what  Roman  builders  have  so  often  done  at  other  times 
and  places — they  filled  in  the  walls  with  such  material 
as  came  to  hand,  and  leveled  the  surface  for  the  new 
foundations,   which  were  thus  raised   many   feet  above 

330 


340  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

the  old  ones.  In  this  way,  the  church  of  the  Imperial 
period  was  buried  up  out  of  sight,  and  in  time  it  was 
forgotten.  Such  was  the  state  of  facts  until  1857, 
when  the  prior.  Father  Mullooly,  of  the  Irish  Domin- 
icans, who  own  the  church,  in  directing  some  repairs 
on  the  upper  structure,  discovered  the  old  structure. 
Excavations  now  laid  bare  before  the  astonished  gaze  of 
men  extensive  portions  of  the  earlier  church:  a  nave,  two 
aisles  formed  by  a  row  of  ancient  columns  made  of  differ- 
ent marbles,  old  fragments  of  art,  a  small  statue  of  the 
Good  Shepherd,  pieces  of  sarcophagi,  and  numerous 
paintings,  frescoes,  and  inscriptions.  The  needed  sup- 
ports for  the  upper  church  were  introduced,  and  the 
lower  one  rehabilitated,  and  now,  three  times  a  year,  the 
old  Church  is  illuminated  and  thrown  open  to  the  world; 
at  other  times,  the  visitor  to  S.  Clemente  can  see  it  on 
payment  of  half  a  franc.  It  is  a  sight  perhaps  unique  in 
architecture — two  churches,  both  of  which  may  be  used 
for  worship  at  the  same  time,  standing  to  each  other  in  a 
relation  similar  to  that  of  the  stories  of  a  single  house. 
But  this  is  not  all.  One  of  the  lower  passage-ways  was 
found  to  run  to  a  buried  shrine  of  Mithras,  the  Persian 
sun-god,  whose  mysteries  were  introduced  into  Rome  by 
the  soldiers  of  Pompey  the  Great.  But  more  than  this, 
beneath  the  old  basilica  there  was  discovered,  in  1867, 
a  still  earlier  structure,  which  is  supposed  to  be  the  house 
of  S.  Clement,  in  which  he  is  said  to  have  built  an  oratory 
at  a  time  when  it  was  yet  dangerous  for  a  man  of  prom- 
inence at  Rome  to  be  a  Christian.  This  house  and  spot 
Christian  tradition  has  identified,  rightly  or  wrongly, 
with  the  fellow-laborer  of  St.  Paul  (Phil,  iv:  3),  and  the 
third  Bishop  of  Rome.  We  may  therefore  say  that  there 
are  here  three  Christian  temples  or  houses  of  worship,  the 
second  built  above  the   first,   and   the   third   above   the 


TWENTY  YEARS  OF  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  IN  ROME.     34  I 

second,  belonging  to  widely  different  periods  in  the  history 
of  the  Church — the  Primitive  Age,  the  Imperial  Age,  and 
Medieval  and  Modern  Times — the  whole  series  furnishing 
a  good  symbol  of  the  great  city  itself  We  habitually  say 
Rome,  but  we  might  say  Roines,  for  really  there  are  many 
of  them.  Rome  is  not  so  much  one  city  as  several  cities, 
superimposed  the  one  upon  the  other.  True  of  all  old 
cities  to  a  degree,  this  is  peculiarly  true  of  the  City  of  the 
Tiber.  Despite  the  ruin  that  time  has  wrought,  you  can 
study  it  in  a  series  of  sections  that  cut  across  the  whole 
life  of  the  loacs,  reaching  from  the  days  of  the  primitive 
shepherds  who  came  from  the  Alban  Hills,  by  the  kings, 
the  consuls,  and  the  popes,  to  the  days  of  King  Humbert. 
And  it  is  to  this  fact  that  Rome  owes  so  much  of  that 
interest  which,  stay  as  long  as  one  will,  seems  never  to 
grow  old.^ 

A  man  of  large  humanity  visiting  Rome  is  little  likely 
to  lose  himself  in  material  things  or  in  the  past.  He 
cannot  become  so  absorbed  in  the  Rome  typified  by  the 
oratory  of  S.  Clemente,  or  by  the  imperial  basilica,  or  by 
the  present  church, as  to  be  insensible  to  the  men  about 
him.  Are  they  not  flesh  and  blood  like  himself?  Do 
they  not  comprise  one  of  the  Romes,  the  latest  one,  and 
the   most  practical?     The   city   offers   to   the  visitor  its 

1  Professor  Lanciani  observes  that  the  Romans  of  the  Middle 
Ages  took  advantage  as  well  as  they  could  of  the  existing  ruins, 
transforming  them,  or  portions  of  them,  into  churches  and  con- 
vents and  ijrivate  dwellings.  After  mentioning  many  such  cases, 
he  observes:  "Nearly  one-half  of  the  thousand  and  more 
churches  and  shrines  registered  in  Rome  in  the  fourteenth  century 
were  indicated  by  the  titles— in  thermis,  in  porticu,  in  maximis, 
in  archione,  in  formis,  in  palatio,  in  piscina."  "The  example  set 
by  the  clergy  in  appropriating  the  above  descriptive  terms  was 
followedclVselyby  the  noblemen  of  the  age,"  as  the  Sevelli,  the 
Conti,  etc.— Ancient  Rome,  Preface. 


342  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

present,  living,  human  problems  as  well  as  its  dead  and 
antiquarian  problems;  and  he  must  be  made  of  stone, 
particularly  if  he  has  followed  on  the  historic  page,  or, 
better  still,  in  the  current  daily  news,  that  stream  of 
Italian  events  which  bears  on  from  the  fatal  field  of 
Novara  to  the  occupation  of  the  Quirinal  Palace  by  the 
King  of  United  Italy.  He  is  rather  the  more  interested 
in  the  questions  of  the  day  by  reason  of  their  histori- 
cal antecedents.  The  letters  S.  P.  Q.  R.  fill  you  with 
strange  emotion  when  you  see  them  on  a  steam  fire- 
engine,  a  police-station,  or  a  garbage  wagon,  and  still 
more  when  you  see  them  blazoned  on  the  walls  of  a 
modern  schoolhouse.  Such,  at  least,  was  my  own  feeling 
when,  in  the  Autumn  of  1891,  I  found  the  hours  of  the 
fleeting  days  all  too  few,  use  them  as  best  I  could,  even 
to  dull  the  edge  of  curiosity.  I  shall  venture  to  place 
before  my  readers  the  results  of  some  inquiries  and  obser- 
vations made  at  the  time,  in  relation  to  one  of  the  most 
practical  of  present  interests. 

The  whole  subject  of  Italian  education  deserves  a  fuller 
presentation  to  the  American  public  than  it  has  yet 
received ;  but  I  shall  attempt  nothing  more  than  a  general 
view  of  what  was  accomplished  in  popular  education  at 
Rome  in  the  twenty  years  following  the  downfall  of  the 
Secular  Power. 

Previous  to  1870,  such  a  thing  as  a  public  .school  was 
wholly  unknown  to  the  Romans,  and  the  very  idea  and 
name  were  strange.  The  Pope  ruled  the  city  and  prov- 
ince, and  his  civil  and  political  agents  were  ecclesiastics. 
Education  was  wholly  in  the  hands  of  priests;  moreover 
there  was  little  of  it,  and  this  little  poor  in  quality.  This  is 
conclusively  shown  by  the  astonishing  number  of  adult 
persons,  and   particularly  of  women,   who  were   wholly 


TWENTY  YEARS  OF  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  IN  ROME. 


343 


unable  to  read  and  write.  But  on  the  incorporation  of 
the  Papal  States  into  the  Kingdom  of  Italy ,  the  system  of 
public  education  that  Italian  statesmen  and  educators  had 
been  developing  for  some  years  preceding,  was  immmedi- 
ately  introduced,  and  has  since  been  in  operation,  subject 
to  such  changes  as  naturally  attend  a  growing  system 
of  schools  in  virgin  soil  in  a  time  of  great  educational 
activity.  Although  the  difficulties  to  be  overcome  were 
great,  the  results  obtained  the  first  3'ear  were  anything 
but  discouraging,  as  the  following  table  copied  from 
the  official  records  for  the  scholastic  year  1870-71,  will 
show : 


Free  City  Day  Schools  for  Boys 

Free  City  Day  Schools  for  Girls 

Free  City  Evening  Schools  for  Boys  

Free  City  Feast  Day  Schools  for  Girls 

Suburban  and  Rural  Dav  Schools  for  Roys 

Suburban  and  Rural  Day  Schools  for  Girls 

Suburban  and  Rural  Evening  Schools  for  Boys 

Suburban  and  Rural  Feast  Day  Schools  for  Boys. .. 


01 

J 

H 

0 

0 

M 

a 

< 

u 

■J 

in 

<J 

14 

44 

8 

29 

8 

30 

9 
1 

15 
1 

Totals  , 


2,5e4 

1.183 

1.983 

494 

40 

24 


6,->91 


H  S5 
H  < 


2,304 

1.049 

1,336 

391 

30 

21 


5,331 


The  number  of  pupils  examined  in  all  the  schools  was  3,324;  the  number 
promoted  1,518. 

Such  was  the  infancy  of  the  public  .schools  of  Rome. 
If  anyone  thinks  it  a  small  beginning,  he  must  remember 
that  Rome  itself  was  not  made  in  a  day.  Such  explana- 
tions as  some  of  the  terms  call  for  will  be  deferred  until 
some  further  tables  have  been  given.  Since  that  first 
year,  the  reports  reveal  encouraging  progress  along  two 
lines:  The  variety  of  schools  maintained,  or  the  range  of 
instruction  provided,  and  the  number  of  schools  of  all 
kinds,  of  classes,  and  of  pupils,  which  present  still  larger 
ratios'.     The  following  table  will  illustrate  the  progress 


344 


STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 


that  has  been  made  along  the  second  of  these  lines.  The 
dates  occur  at  intervals  of  five  years,  save  alone  the  last 
interval,  which  is  four  years: 


SCHOLASTIC 

ATTEND- 

YEAR. 

SCHOOI.S. 

CLASSES. 

ENROLLED. 

ANCE. 

1870-71 

41 

12U 

6,291 

5,331 

1875-7G 

90 

437 

17,376 

11,777 

1880-81 

155 

616 

21,311 

15,909 

1885-86 

144 

696 

24,876 

19,245 

1889-90 

142 

624 

26,149 

19,951 

A  sectional  view  of  the  schools  of  the  cit}-  for  the  last 
year  included  in  the  table  is  still  more  interesting. 


Free  City  Day  Schools  for  Boys 

Free  City  Day  Schools  for  Girls 

Free  City  Evening  Schools  for  Boys 

l-"ree  City  Feast  Day  Schools  for  Girls 

Suburban  and  Rural  Day  Schools  for  Boys 

Suburban  and  Rural  Day  Schools  for  Girl.s 

Suburban  and  Rural  Fivening  Schools  for  Boy.s  .... 
Sub\irbau  and  Rural  Feast  Day  Schools  for  Girls.. 

Pay  Elementary  Day  Schools  for  Boys 

Pay  Kltiutiitary  Day  Schools  for  Girls 

Pay  Kindergartens 

Free  Kindergartens 

I'reparatory  Schools  for  Ornamental  Arts 

Free  Evening  Schools  for  Artizans 

Primary  Courses  in  Schools  for  Artisans 

Superior  Female  School  Fusinato  F^rminia  Fera... 

Professional  Female  School  Via  della  Missione 

Professional  Female  School  Teresa  Chigi  Torlonia 

Evening  Commercial  School  for  Boys 

Feast  Day  Commercial  School  for  Girls 

Commercial  School  for  Girls 

Totals 


182 
244 
43 
51 
2.=) 
1.5 
28 
19 
7 
10 


624 


Bi 


8,008 

9,76.5 

1,179 

871 

695 

407 

506 

96 

222 

322 

941 

958 

105 
20^ 

06 
698 
1.59 
180 
217 

74 


26,149 


6,519 
8,009 
794 
658 
496 
308 
.S33 
69 
189 
258 


358 
152 
179 

64 
693 
157 
151 
209 

67 


19,519 


The  total  number  examined  was  15,693,  and  the  total  number  promoted 

11,117. 

This  table  is  the  more  interesting  by  reason  of  the 
strange  terms  that  occur.  They  suggest  to  us  a  system 
of  popular  education  different  in  .some  of  its  features  from 
our  own.      vStill,   for  the  most  part,  these  terms  explain 


TWENTY  YEARS  OF  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  IN  ROME.     345 

themselves;  only  two  or  three  call  for  explanation.  The 
feast-day  schools  for  girls  are  held  on  Sundays  and  other 
religious  days,  and  they  answer  a  purpose  similar  to  the 
purposes  subserved  by  the  evening  schools  for  boys.  It 
must  not  be  hastily  concluded  that  such  schools  are  neces- 
sarily of  little  value;  Church  days  are  very  abundant  in 
Ital}^  as  in  all  other  Catholic  countries;  and  antecedently 
there  is  no  reason  wh^'  such  schools  should  not  be  made 
almost  as  efhcient  as  the  continuation  schools  of  Germany. 
The  suburban  and  rural  schools  lie  outside  of  the  city 
walls.  One  of  the  most  encouraging  features  of  Roman 
education  is  the  marked  prominence  of  schools  for  girls. 
Of  the  26,149  pupils  enrolled,  11,818  were  in  boys' 
schools  and  14,831  in  girls'  schools.  The  last  school  on 
the  list  was  but  three  years  old  when  the  list  was  made  up. 
It  took  the  girl  at  the  age  of  fourteen  or  fifteen  and  car- 
ried her  through  a  three  years'  course  of  practical  studies, 
including  two  or  three  modern  languages,  with  a  view  of 
fitting  her  for  a  clerk,  or  accountant,  in  bnsiness  life. 
The  word  "  professional"  must  not  be  taken  too  seriously. 
The  Professional  School  for  Women  in  the  Street  of  the 
Mission  is  professional  only  in  respect  to  domestic  and 
industrial  arts.  It  is  established  in  an  old  ecclesiastical 
building,  not  at  all  convenient  for  its  purposes,  and  gives 
instruction  to  about  eight  hundred  girls  and  young  ladies 
in  literary  and  practical  .studies.  Reading,  writing,  com- 
position, geography,  arithmetic,  drawing,  literature,  and 
French  are  intermingled  with  dress-making,  shirt-making, 
wa.shing,  ironing,  cooking,  the  making  of  artificial  flowers, 
embroidery  of  various  kinds,  and  other  .similar  arts.  The 
school  has  a  regular  course  of  study,  and  it  allows  to 
pupils  a  certain  liberty  of  choice  of  .studies.  It  is  a  most 
interesting  .school,  and  is  full  of  promise  for  the  Roman 
women, 


346  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

The  cost  of  a  system  of  schools  at  different  times  is 
still  another  gauge  of  its  growth.  The  cost  of  the  Roman 
system  at  intervals  of  five  years  is  as  follows: 

1871 579,375  lire. 

1876 1,064,097  " 

1S81 1,434,662  " 

1886 1,891,377  " 

1889,  the  last  year  for  which  the  cost  is  given 2,760,816    " 

From  ever}^  point  of  view  the  tables  given  above  are 
instructive  and  encouraging;  thej-  are  just  such  tables  as 
inspire  confidence  in  an  educational  statistician,  revealing 
as  the}'  do  a  continuous,  normal  growth.  Much  more, 
these  tables  would  show  towards  the  end  some  of  the  col- 
umns halting  and  even  falling  backward,  but  the  ready 
and  true  explanation  is  the  great  financial  embarrassment 
of  the  municipal  and  national  governments  in  recent  j^ears. 
It  will  be  seen  that  the  number  of  classes  increased  more 
than  five-fold,  and  the  number  of  pupils  four- fold,  within 
the  period  that  the  exhibit  covers.  For  a  New  England 
or  Western  city  of  400,000  people,  624  classes  and  26,149 
pupils  in  elementary  schools  maj'  not  be  a  very  large  show- 
ing, but  for  Rome,  in  1800,  it  was  a  most  gratif3'ing  one 

Failing  to  find  in  the  annual  statement  for  1890  a  sum- 
mary of  the  pupils  in  the  several  classes,  I  give  the  num- 
bers for  a  single  school.  But  they  must  be  prefaced  with 
some  remarks  concerning  the  Italian  method  of  grading. 
At  the  bottom  of  the  scale  is  found  the  osilo,  which  an- 
swers in  a  general  way  to  the  German  kindergarten. 
Then  follow  the  five  elementar\^  classes,  marked  with 
Roman  numerals,  I,  II,  III,  forming  what  is  called  the 
inferior  course,  and  IV  and  \',  the  superior  course.  It 
may  be  obser\-ed  that,  in  the  country  schools  and  in  towns 
where  the  grading  system  is  not  fully  carried  out,  the 
asilo  is  not  found,  and  most  elementarv  work  is  done  in 


TWENTY  YEARS  OF  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  IN  ROME.     347 

the   regular  classes.     These  observations  will  make  the 
following  table  more  intelligible: 

ANALYSIS  OF  THE  PUPILS  IX  THE  SCHOOL  REGINA 
MARGHERITA. 

C^^-^SS.                                                                 BOYS.  GIRLS.  TOT.\I.S 

Asilo 81  SS  14'.t 

I     269  171  no 

II  220  1)1  .Sll 

III 102  59  l(;i 

IV S9  39  128 

V    54  19  73 

Total 815  487  1,252 

Most  of  the  public  schools  of  Rome  are  found  in  build- 
ings erected  for  other  than  school  purjDoses.  The  reason 
is  two-fold:  the  confiscation  of  Church  property,  convents, 
monasteries,  and  the  like,  swept  into  the  possession  of  the 
State  a  multitude  of  buildings,  the  kingdom  over,  that 
could  be  used  for  schools,  while  the  insufficiency  of  public 
revenues  has  prevented  the  erection  of  more  suitable 
structures.  But  some  new  ones  have  been  built.  The 
School  Regina  Margherita,  beyond  the  Tiber,  is  one  of 
the  best  in  the  city;  it  is  one  of  the  schools  to  which  \'is- 
itors  are  taken,  for  Italian  school  officers  are  as  partic- 
ular about  such  matters  as  are  our  own.  It  is  the 
school  whose  pupils  are  analj^zed  above,  and  it  must 
be  distinctly  understood  that  some  other  schools  would 
not  make  as  good  a  showing.  Now,  this  school  is  in 
some  features  the  most  admirable  school-house  that  I 
have  ever  visited.  It  is  thoroughly  modern  in  all  its  ap- 
pointments; it  is  well  constructed  in  every  wa>-,  lighted 
and  warmed,  while  the  halls  and  cloak-rooms  are  well 
arranged.  The  steps  and  principal  flights  of  stairs  are  of 
marble;  the  rooms  are  well  furnished  with  maps  and 
other  illustrative  appliances;  there  are  gymnasiimis  for 


348  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

boys  and  girls,  and  a  bath-room  for  bo3^s,  with  a  half 
dozen  douche  baths;  the  carpenter  shop  is  well  supplied 
with  tools  and  models,  and  a  prett}^  garden  is  found  in  the 
rear  of  the  building.  A  picture  of  King  Humbert  hangs  in 
every  room.  The  building  accommodates  from  1,200  to 
1,800  pupils,  and  emplo3\s  thirty  or  more  teachers.  The 
girls'  classes  are  taught  by  women,  and  some  of  the  boys' 
classes  also.  A  director  and  directress  preside  over  the 
two  departments,  for  the  sexes  are  kept  separate.  The 
order  is  excellent,  and  much  attention  is  paid  to  teaching 
patriotism,  decorum,  and  politeness.  As  I  left  the  build- 
ing, the  severest  criticism  that  I  could  make  upon  the 
school  authorities  was  that  they  had  not  sufficiently  con- 
sulted economy  of  space  and  money. 

Elementary  instruction  in  Italy  does  not  compare  favor- 
ably with  similar  instruction  found  in  the  well-educated 
countries,  such  as  Germany  and  Switzerland.  The  com- 
pulsory period  is  only  three  years,  corresponding  to  the 
inferior  course,  and  even  for  that  limited  time  the  law  is 
not  well  enforced.  The  programme  for  the  Province  and 
City  of  Rome  embraces  studies  practically  like  those 
found  in  corresponding  grades  in  our  own  schools — the 
Italian  language,  reading  and  writing,  object  lessons, 
poems  and  prose  extracts  committed  to  memory,  arith- 
metic, geography,  and  histor}',  the  last  of  course  of  a  very 
rudimentary  kind.  The  superior  course  embraces  more 
extended  instruction  in  the  foregoing  studies,  and  calig- 
raphy,  physics,  and  natural  history,  free-hand  drawing  of 
geometrical  figures,  rules  of  measurement,  grammar,  and 
literature  in  addition.  The  course  of  the  suburban  and 
rural  schools  is  inferior  to  that  of  the  city  schools. 

The  Roman  school  year  is  ten  months,  beginning  the 
middle  of  October,  and  closing  the  middle  of  August. 
American    and    Knglish  residents  say   the  instruction  in 


TWENTY  YEARS  OF  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  IN  KOMi;.      1 


49 


the  public  schools  is  good,  and  my  own  limited  obser- 
vation tends  to  confirm  their  testimony.  The  attention 
paid  to  patriotism,  decorum,  and  politeness,  may  again 
be  remarked  upon.  There  were,  in  1891,  about  600 
teachers,  200  men  and  400  women.  Like  Italian  salaries 
generally,  teachers'  salaries  are  low.  This  can  be  shown 
by  a  table.  At  the  close  of  Januarj^,  1892,  there  were  em- 
ployed in  the  public  schools  of  Rome  and  its  suburbs  582 
teachers,  of  whom  188  were  men  and  394  women. 
The  following  is  an  exhibit  of  the  salaries  that  they 
received: 

MEN. 
9  City  Principals 3,000  lire.* 

6  Rural  Principals 2,200 

171  City  Teachers 2,400 

54     "  "         2,200 

14     "  "         1,%0 

31     "  "         1,W0 

1  Rural  Teacher 1,800 

7  Rural  Teachers l.fiOU 

7  "  "        1,200 

3      "  "        720 

WOMEN. 

14  City  Principals 2,000 

8  Rural  Principals l.'^OO 

49  City  Teachers 2,100 

44     " 
65     " 


74 

134 

19 


2,000 
1,800 
1,500 
1,200 
800 


on   trial -    . 

2  Rural  Teachers 1,400 

6      "  "        1,200 

1  Rural  Teacher 1,000 

9  Rural  Teachers  (assistants),  from  300  to  480 

In  Rome  teachers'  salaries  are  advanced  once  in  five 

years  until  the  maximum  is  reached. 

*A  franc,  worth  19;^  cents. 


350  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

The  depreciatory  remark  that  has  been  dropped  above 
must  be  understood  in  a  relative  sense.  Italy  has  not  had 
the  educational  experience  of  New  England,  of  Germany, 
or  of  France.  Still,  the  statistics  prove  most  conclusively 
that  a  perceptible  impression  has  been  made  upon  the 
dense  masses  of  ignorance  that  the  old  regime  bequeathed 
to  Modern  Italy.  An  expressive  word  is  found  in  Italian 
educational  statistics.  It  is  analfabeti,  unlettered,  illiter- 
ate, "  unalphabeted,"  as  one  might  say.  Taking  the 
whole  kingdom  together,  the  percent  of  analfabeti, 
irrespective  of  age,  at  the  dates  given,  is  as  follows: 


rEAR. 

MALES. 

FEMALES. 

TOTAL 

1861 

72.40 

83.73 

78.06 

1871 

67.04 

78.94 

72.96 

1881 

61.03 

73.51 

67.26 

Ominously  enough,  Rome  does  not  appear  in  the  statis- 
tics previous  to  the  downfall  of  the  Secular  Papacy;  but, 
from  1871  to  1881,  the  percentage  of  persons  in  the  Com- 
partment of  Rome,  above  six  years  of  age,  who  could 
read,  was  raised,  males,  from  37.73  to  48.24;  females,  from 
25.93  to  35.39,  and  the  total  from  32.32  to  41.84.  As  late 
as  1888,  56.30  per  cent,  of  the  women,  and  32.3  per  cent, 
of  the  men,  entering  into  marriages  weie  unable  to  sign 
their  marriage  papers  and  made  their  marks. 

I  shall  close  with  a  translation  of  the  final  paragraph  of 
the  course  of  study  prescribed  for  the  Roman  schools: 

Duties. — without  making  the  subject  of  their  duties  a  special 
matter  of  study  or  examination,  the  master  should  not  neglect 
opportunities  for  making  his  pupils  sensible  of  the  duties  which 
they  owe  towards  God,  towards  their  neighbors,  and  towards  them- 
selves; seeking  above  all  to  inspire  them  with  a  respect  for  justice, 
and  to  cultivate  such  sentiments  as  constitute  the  most  precious 
patrimony  of  civilization,  and  may  conduce  to  an  orderly,  peace- 
able, and  progressive  state  of  society.  It  may  be  said  that  there  is 
no  branch  of  teaching  that  cannot  be  led  in  this  direction.     In 


TWENTY  YEARS  OF  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  IN  ROME.     3SI 

particular,  the  master  must  not  neglect  to  avail  himself  of  the 
lessons  in  geography  and  history,  in  order  to  make  the  pupil 
understand  what  sacrifices  have  been  required  to  make  the  consti- 
tution of  Italy  such  as  it  is  to-day,  and  how  Italians  can  hope  for 
no  security  but  in  the  maintenance  of  the  national  unity. 


XVIII. 

RELIGIOUS    INSTRUCTION   IN  THE 
SCHOOLS  OF  GERMANY.^ 


ROM  an  article  now  lying  before  me,  written 
by  a  well-informed  American  journalist,  I 
quote  the  following  sentences: 

The  uuuiljcT  of  atheists  in  Germany  is  very 
large.  The  number  of  skeptics — that  is,  of  persons  who  have  a 
private  religion  of  their  own,  the  nature  of  which  they  consider 
nobody  else's  business — is  still  larger.  But  larger  than  all  is  the 
class  who  dislike  and  despise  the  clergy,  and  will  on  no  account 
permit  them  to  educate  their  children.  All  these  classes  together 
include  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  German  culture  and  intelli- 
gence. .  .  .  In  no  other  country  have  the  commercial  and 
professional  men  got  so  far  away  from  the  Church.  They  have,  in 
fact,  got  so  far  away  that  to  the  bulk  of  them  American  and 
English  piety  is  absolutely  incomprehensible. '■^ 

This  is  from  the  secular  standpoint.  From  the  Ameri- 
can Evangelical  standpoint,  Germany  is  the  land  of  mate- 
rialistic unbelief,  of  destructive  Biblical  criticism,  of  reli- 
gious formalism,  and  of  .spiritual  coldness.  To  the  zealous 
American  Christian  the  phrase  "German  rationalism" 
suggests  ideas  and  feelings  quite  as  unwelcome  as  those 
awakened  by  the  phrase  "  French  infidelity"  one  hundred 
years  ago.  An  educated  German  theologian  and  teacher 
told  me  in  Dresden  that  he  had  spent  some  time  in 
England,  and  that  many  men  who  were  there  accounted 
heretics  would  in  Germany  be  considered  orthodox  be- 

'  Berlin,  February,  1892. 
^  The  Nation,  February  4,  1892,  p.. 81. 

352 


RELIGIOUS  INSTRUCTION  IN  GERMAN  SCHOOLS.     353 

lievers.     These  facts  are  so  well  kiioAvn  that  they  call  for 
no  especial  emphasis. 

It  is  probable  that  some  persons,  looking  at  these  facts 
from  a  distance,  would  attribute  them  to  deficient  reli- 
gious instruction  in  childhood.  To  one  taking  a  superfi- 
cial view  of  the  subject,  that  would,  perhaps,  seem  the 
readiest  and  best  explanation.  Nevertheless,  it  would  be 
very  wide  of  the  mark.  Whatever  the  causes  of  the 
existing  state  of  affairs  may  be,  they  are  certainly 
not  lack  of  religious  instruction  in  the  formative  period 
of ,  life.  In  no  states  in  the  world  is  more  attention 
paid  to  the  religious  instruction  of  children  than  in  the 
German  States;  in  no  other  Protestant  states  is  so  much 
emphasis  laid  on  the  subject  in  public  schools  as  in  those  of 
North  Germany. 

For  example,  in  Prussia  and  Saxony  education  is  com- 
pulsory on  all  children  from  six  to  fourteen  years  of  age. 
The  laws  are  so  stringent,  and  their  administration  is  so 
thorough,  that  illiteracy  is  practically  annihilated.  In 
the  great  city  of  Berlin,  there  are  not  as  many  illiterate 
men  of  the  proper  population  as  would  fill  one  of  the 
large  omnibuses  that  roll  along  the  street.  Still  more, 
the  courses  of  study  in  the  schools  include  formal  didactic 
religious  instruction.  In  the  elementary  schools  of  Prus- 
sia four  hours  a  week  for  the  whole  eight  years  is  de- 
voted to  religion,  which  is  just  the  time  that  is  given  to 
arithmetic,  and  is  also  one-seventh  of  the  time  gi\-en  to 
all  subjects  whatsoever.  In  the  other  schools,  the  regi- 
men is  quite  as  thorough.  In  the  girls'  high  schools  the 
ratio  of  time  devoted  to  religion  to  that  devoted  to  all 
subjects  is  20  to  240;  in  the  gymnasia,  19  to  304.  In  the 
Saxon  Normal  Schools  it  is  28  to  272.  In  the  universi- 
ties, save  in  the  theological  faculty,  the  subject  passes 
wholly  out  of  sight. 


354  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

To  present  the  subject  still  more  fully,  I  give  a  tran- 
script of  the  course  in  religion  found  in  the  elementary 
schools  of  Saxony.  The  form  is  abridged,  but  the  sub- 
stance is  retained.  The  Lehrplan  begins  with  declaring 
that  religious  instruction  has  for  its  object  the  de\-elop- 
ment  of  religious,  moral  thoughtfulness,  the  awakening 
of  the  corresponding  feelings,  and  a  true  Christian  life — 
certainly  a  very  noble  ideal.     This  is  the  course: — 

Class  VIII.,  a.  Bible  historj-. — The  Creation;  Abraham  and  Lot; 
Joseph;  the  birth  of  Moses  and  his  flight  from  Egypt;  the  Law 
given;  the  golden  calf.  Birth  of  Jesus;  the  wise  men;  Jestis  12 
years  old;  marriage  at  Cana;  heavy  draught  of  fishes;  the  5-outh  at 
Nain;  Jairus's  daughter;  feeding  the  5,000;  Jesus  blessing  the 
children;  the  Prodigal  Son;  the  Good  Samaritan.  Early  in  the 
year  religious  narratives  from  Bible  history  may  be  given  in 
advance. 

Class  VIL,  a.  Bible  history. — Classes  VII. -V.,  inclusive,  will 
review  the  history  already  given,  as  well  as  learn  the  new  lessons: 
The  fall  of  man;  Noah  and  the  flood;  call  of  Moses;  Ruth;  Ish- 
mael;  David  and  Goliath;  David  and  Saul.  The  birth  of  John; 
flight  to  Egypt;  baptism  of  Jesus;  storm  at  sea;  the  rich  man  and 
Lazarus;  entrance  into  Jerusalem;  Jesus  a  prisoner,  before  the 
council,  before  Pilate;  death,  burial,  and  resurrection. 

Classes  VIII.  and  VIL,  b. — Explanation  of  verses;  verses  im- 
pressed b}'  repetition  by  the  pupils.  In  Class  VII.  instruction 
given  about  learning  by  heart  portions  of  Bible  history,  or  of 
ether  history  of  a  religious  nature,  explained. 

Class  VI.,  a.  Bible  history. — Tower  of  Babel;  Abraham's  call; 
Isaac's  marriage;  Jacob  and  Esau;  Jacob's  flight  and  reconcilia- 
tion with  Esau;  death  of  Moses;  entrance  of  Israelites  into  the 
promised  land;  Saul  king;  David  anointed;  David  king;  Na- 
both's  vineyard.  The  apostles  chosen;  the  centurion  at  Caper- 
naum; Jesus  at  Bethesda;  the  ten  lepers;  the  wicked  servant;  the 
widow's  mite;  the  blind  man  at  Jericho;  Jesus  in  Gethsemane,  his 
condemnation  and  ascension. 

Class  VI.,  b.  Religious  themes. — Apothegms,  sentences,  Bible 
verses  and  history;  the  Shorter  Catechism,  etc.,  used  in  consider- 
ing them.     The  duties  of  reciprocal  love,  gratitude,  trust,  obedi- 


RELIGIOUS  INSTRUCTION  IN  GERMAN  SCHOOLS.     3:55 

ence,  and  prayer  deduced  from  God's  love;  conduct  towards  rela- 
tives, teachers,  fellow-students,  strangers,  the  feeble,  and  the  old; 
modesty,  reverence,  sympathy,  rights  of  property,  conduct  to- 
wards animals,  plants,  and  artistic  work,  etc.,  considered;  also 
care  for  the  health,  contentedness,  frugality,  etc. 

Class  v.,  a.  Bible  history. — Cain  and  Abel;  promises  to  Abra- 
ham; Sodom  and  Gomorrah;  flight  and  call  of  Moses;  Moses  be- 
fore Pharaoh;  departure  from  Egypt;  journey  through  the  wilder- 
ness; David's  sin.  Prophecy  and  birth  of  Jesus;  teaching  and 
baptism  of  John;  the  palsied  man;  parable  of  the  sower;  the 
Pharisee  and  the  publican;  Mary  and  Martha;  the  passover  and 
establishment  of  the  Lord's  Supper;  Jesus  a  prisoner,  before  the 
council,  before  Pilate,  death,  resurrection,  and  appearance  after 
death. 

Class  v.,  b. — Explanation  of  religious  themes.  Such  themes  to 
be  taken  from  the  doctrine  of  the  Church,  the  emphasis  placed 
upon  the  disposition  and  actions.  Much  that  was  treated  iu 
Class  VI.  to  be  reviewed;  the  following  themes  to  be  presented: 
God's  works,  qualities,  and  waj's;  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God,  as 
worker  of  miracles,  teacher,  and  example;  value  of  earthly  and 
heavenly  possessions;  results  of  good  and  evil;  knowledge  of  sin, 
temptation,  repentance,  forgiveness,  concerning  death,  and  the 
future  life. 

In  Classes  IV.  and  III.  Bible  history  is  to  be  presented  in  its 
connection,  as  a  history  of  the  kingdom  of  God  on  earth.  Id 
Class  IV.  the  Old  Testament  is  taken;  in  Cla.ss  III.  the  New 
Testament.  In  both  classes,  at  the  high  church  feasts.  New  Testa- 
ment history  relative  thereto  taken  for  religious  meditation. 
Knowledge  of  the  Holy  Land  acquired  in  connection  with  Bible 
history. 

Class  IV.,  a.  Old  Testament  history  taken  in  preceding  classes 
reviewed.  The  offering  of  Isaac;  times  of  the  Judges;  David's 
persecutions;  Absalom's  revolt;  the  temple  built;  the  kingdom 
divided;  Elijah  and  Elisha;  the  Assyrian  captivity;  Tobias;  the 
Babylonian  captivity;  Daniel;  return  from  Babylon. 

Class  IV.,  b.  Instruction  in  Catechism.— The  first  chapter  and 
first  article;  the  commandments;  instructions  concerning  life  in 
parish  and  State,  love  of  country,  family  life;  true  and  f  dse  pleas- 
ures; value  of  health  and  other  worldly  goods;  trust  in  God,   con- 


356  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

tentment,  hopeful  foresight,  absence  of  sinful  desires  and  danger- 
ous passions,  etc.;  in  a  word,  whatever  can  equip  the  children 
with  a  true  knowledge  of  life,  inspire  them  with  good  designs  and 
a  feeling  for  truth,  and  strengthen  in  them  right  and  virtue. 

Class  III.,  a.  New  Testament  history  continued.  —  Presenta- 
tion of  Jesus  in  the  Temple;  his  temptation;  conversation  with 
the  woman  of  Samaria;  parable  of  the  tares;  death  of  John;  the 
Canaanitish  woman;  the  deaf  and  dumb  man;  workers  in  the 
vinyard;  transfiguration;  raising  of  Lazarus;  the  angry  vineyard- 
keeper;  Zaccheus;  the  ten  virgins;  last  judgment;  Jesus  appears 
at  Emmaus;  out-pouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Class  III.,  b.  Instruction  in  the  Catechism. — The  second  and 
third  articles  of  the  first  chapter,  and  the  third  chapter. 

Classes  II.  and  I.,  a.  Bible  knowledge.  —  The  aim  is  not 
merely  to  instruct  concerning  the  Bible,  but  also,  through  read- 
ing and  explanation  of  chapters,  to  introduce  the  contents  of  the 
most  important  books.  The  finding  of  books  and  chapters  of  the 
Bible  constantly  practiced.  Continued  attention  given  to  the 
geography  of  the  Holy  Land. 

Class  II.,  b.  The  Catechism. — Treatment  of  the  first  chapter, 
first  article,  and  the  doctrine  of  the  sacraments  after  the  words 
pronounced  by  Jesus  at  the  institution  of  the  Eucharist. 

Class  I.,  b.  The  Catechism. — Treatment  of  the  second  and  third 
articles,  and  the  third,  fourth,  and  fifth  chapters. 

This  is  the  course  prescribed  for  the  State  Evangelical 
schools  of  Saxony.  In  the  State  Catholic  schools  the 
instruction  follows  Catholic  lines,  while  children  of  other 
churches  that  are  recognized  by  the  State  may  be  taught 
according  to  their  respective  faiths.  But  the  main  fact 
is,  that  the  above  course,  or  its  equivalent,  is  just  as  com- 
pulsory as  the  courses  in  geography,  in  language,  or  in 
history.  The  law  leaves  no  loophole  for  escape.  A 
father  may  indeed  .send  his  child  to  a  private  school,  or 
have  him  taught  at  home,  but  the  State  follows  the  child 
to  see  that  the  legal  quantum  of  religious  instruction  is 
given.  In  effect,  the  policeman  stands  behind  the  Bible 
and  the  Catechism.     How  very  thorough  the  enforcement 


RELIGIOUS  INSTRUCTION  IN  GERMAN  SCHOOLS.     357 

of  the  law  is  in  Prussia,  is  shown  by  the  royal  decrees 
determining  authority  and  responsibility  in  respect  to 
religious  instruction.  The  following  is  a  summary  of  the 
principal  of  these  decrees: — 

(1).  Decision  as  to  the  character  of  religious  instruction  depends 
principally  upon  the  father. 

(2).  It  is  the  father's  duty  to  see  that  the  child  receive  religious 
instruction  conformable  to  his  faith  and  condition  in  life. 

(3).  Children  born  in  wedlock  must  receive  instruction  in  the 
religion  of  the  father. 

(4).   No  legal  contracts  can  be  made  to  change  the  rule  siih  3. 

(5).  In  the  case  of  mixed  marriages,  agreements  made  before  or 
at  marriage  to  train  the  children  in  the  religion  of  the  mother 
have  no  legal  force. 

(6).  If  father  and  mother,  however,  agree  as  to  the  religious 
instruction  their  children  are  to  receive,  no  third  person  has 
authority  to  interfere. 

(7).  At  the  death  of  the  father,  the  religious  instruction  in 
his  faith  must  be  continued. 

(8).  No  attention  is  to  be  paid  to  death-bed  conversions  to 
another  faith. 

(9).  If,  however,  the  child  has  received,  the  last  entire  year 
before  death  of  father,  religious  instruction  according  to  the 
mother's  faith,  this  instruction  mu.st  be  continued  until  the  said 
child  be  fourteen  years  of  age. 

(10).  After  the  death  of  the  father,  it  becomes  the  duty  of  the 
court  for  guardianship  {Vormundschaftsgericht)  to  see  that  the 
child  receive  religious  instruction  according  to  law. 

(11).  Children  born  out  of  wedlock  receive,  until  14  years  of 
age,  religious  instruction  according  to  the  faith  of  the  mother. 

°  (12).  They  who  assume  care  of  a  child  abandoned  by  his  parents 
acquire  the  rights  of  parents,  and,  therefore,  decide  as  to  the 
character  of  religious  instruction  until  said  child  be  1 4  years  of  age. 

(13).  The  same  rule  holds  good  in  the  case  of  adopted  children, 

(14),  When  14  years  of  age,  children  can  decide  for  themselves 
as  to  the  religious  denomination  to  which  they  will  belong. 

(15).  Before  14  years  of  age,  no  religious  denomination  can 
receive  a  child  or  permit  an  open  confession  of  faith  other  than 
that  to  which  said  child  belongs  by  law.  * ^ 

I  Parsons:  Prussian  Schools  through  American  Eyes,  pp.  21,  22. 


358  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION, 

Two  cardinal  ideas  underlie  these  decrees.  The  first 
is  that  every  man  belongs  to  some  church,  and  the  second 
that  his  children,  up  to  the  age  of  fourteen  years,  belong 
to  the  same  church  The  first  of  these  ideas  is  a  survival 
from  the  time  when  every  nation  or  state  had  one  national 
church  or  religious  establishment,  to  which  e^'ery  mem- 
ber of  the  state  belonged  just  as  naturally  and  necessarily 
as  he  belonged  to  the  national  government.  In  other 
words,  the  State  and  the  Church  were  simply  the  secular 
and  the  religious  sides  of  the  same  society.  The  Protes- 
tant Reformation,  by  destroying  religious  unity  in  Ger- 
many, compelled  the  recognition  of  a  plurality  of  churches, 
and  demolished  the  theological  basis  of  the  State- 
Church  theory,  but  it  did  not  destroy  the  idea  that 
every  man  belongs  to  some  church,  that  his  children 
come  into  the  world  wearing  the  same  church  ticket 
that  he  wears,  and  that  the  state  must  see  that  they 
are  taught  the  doctrines  of  his  church.  Of  course,  if 
the  state  is  to  teach  religion  in  confessional  schools  the 
' '  ticket ' '  plan  is  the  only  one  that  can  be  practically 
followed. 

To  make  it  possible  to  carry  out  these  decrees,  the 
schools  of  cities  and  towns  where  the  conditions  admit  of 
it  are  organized  on  a  confessional  or  church  basis.  The 
religious  instruction  given  in  the  mixed  schools  of  the 
rural  districts  is  governed  by  the  religion  of  the  plurality 
of  the  children  in  attendance,  or  of  the  families  to  which 
they  belong.  Still,  where  twelve  children  in  such  school 
demand  it,  or  their  parents  for  them,  they  receive  reli- 
gious instruction  conformable  to  that  of  the  church  to 
which  they  belong,  and,  to  make  this  the  more  easy, 
schools  are  united  for  this  purpose  wherever  it  is  conve- 
nient to  do  so.  The  following  table  will  show  how  the 
system  worked  in  Prussia  in  1886  : 


RELIGIOUS  INSTRUCTION  IN  GERMAN  SCHOOLS.     359 

NO.  OF 
SCHOOI,S.  TEACHKRS.  PUPILS. 

Protestant 23,122  41,539  2,993,852 

Catholic 10,061  19,632  1,613,497 

Other  Christians 12  31  870 

Jewish. 318  407  13,270 

Mixed 503  3,141  216,758 

Total 34,016  64,750  4,838,247 

In  318  of  the  mixed  schools  there  were  special  religious 
teachers;  54,950  Catholic  pupils  attended  Protestant 
schools,  and  25,878  Protestant  pupils  Catholic  schools. 
It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  we  are  here  deal- 
ing with  Church  schools;  on  the  contrary,  these  are  all 
State  schools,  but  State  schools  divided  with  reference  to 
the  kind  of  religious  instruction  given  in  them. 

But  we  are  here  concerned  wnth  the  moral  results  of  the 
course.  The  main  question  is,  how  the  present  religious 
condition  of  Germany  can  exist  side  by  side  with  such  a 
regimen  of  religious  instruction  as  is  found  in  the  schools. 
This  is  one  of  the  most  important  practical  questions  that 
religious  men  in  Germany,  and  particularly  teachers  and 
preachers,  can  possibl}'"  ask.  Still,  it  may  be  doubted 
whether  many  of  them  often  do  ask  it,  if  indeed,  they  ever 
do.  It  is  an  important  practical  question  for  English- 
men, and  particularly  of  the  Established  Church.  It 
is  important  also  in  the  United  States,  but  less  so  than 
in  the  other  countries  just  named.  It  is  a  question  well 
worthy  of  consideration  at  the  hands  of  all  those  who  are 
engaged  in  the  work  of  religious  and  moral  training.  If 
a  full  and  conclusive  answer  cannot  be  given,  a  partial 
one  may  not  be  without  value.  All  that  I  can  do  is  to 
state  some  of  the  principal  considerations  that  would 
enter  most  deeply  into  a  thorough  treatment. 


360  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

It  should  be  premised  that  the  failure  is  not  due  to  any 
lack  of  thoroughness  in  the  course  of  study,  or  to 
any  laxity  in  the  directions  given  to  teachers.  The 
reader  must  be  impressed  by  that  fact.  The  course 
begins  with  stating  the  objects  of  religious  instruction,  viz. : 
To  promote  religious,  moral  thoughtfulness  through  Bible 
history  and  the  teachings  of  the  Church,  to  make  religious 
truths  and  moral  ideas  clearly  understood,  to  awaken  the 
corresponding  feelings,  and  thereby  to  lay  the  foundation 
for  a  true  religion  and  a  good  moral  life.  The  Bible 
narratives  chosen  by  the  teacher  are  to  be  of  religious 
purport.  The  teacher  is  fully  to  explain  the  lessons,  and 
the  pupil  is  to  commit  verses  and  passages  of  Scripture  to 
memory.  The  moral  lessons  are  of  the  most  practical 
kind,  and  are  to  be  deduced  from  religious  principles. 
The  Catechism  is  introduced.  It  is  declared  that  with 
the  attainment  of  a  clear  understanding  of  a  doctrine, 
comes  the  awakening  of  a  religious  feeling.  Religious 
meditation  is  to  be  secured,  and  the  religious  element 
in  the  commandments  emphasized.  The  Bible  lessons 
are  to  be  explained  in  connection  with  the  songs  that 
are  sung  and  the  parts  of  the  Catechism  that  are  taught, 
and  are  also  to  be  associated  with  Sundays  and  religious 
holidays.  The  course  is  marked  by  the  skill  shown  by  the 
German  pedagogists  in  all  similar  work,  and  the  more 
carefully  it  is  studied  the  more,  pedagogically  speaking, 
it  will  be  admired.  Why,  then,  is  it  so  largely  nugatory 
and  fruitless  of  results  ? 

The  first  fact  to  be  considered  is  the  Established 
Churches  of  the  German  States,  Protestant  and  Catholic. 
There  are  also  certain  religious  organizations  that  are 
called  "recognized,"  which  means  that  they  are  legal 
persons,  entitled  to  own  property  and  to  carry  on  public 
worship,  subject  only  to  the  general  laws  of  the  land.     In 


RELIGIOUS  INSTRUCTION  IN  GERMAN  SCHOOLS.     361 

Prussia  these  are  the  separatist  Lutheran  and  Reformed 
Churches  (consisting  of  those  Lutherans  and  Calvinists 
who  have  never  come  into  the  State  Protestant  Church 
resulting  from  the  union  of  1817),  and  the  Jews,  the 
Baptists,  the  Mennonites,  and  the  Moravians.  The  non- 
recognized  Churches  are  not  legal  persons,  and  can  own 
property  and  hold  public  w^orship  only  under  special 
arrangements.  Here  come  in  the  Methodists,  the  Irving- 
ites,  and  other  small  sects.  Not  wishing  to  encourage 
sectarian  divisions,  the  government  is  slow  to  recognize 
religious  societies.  The  recognized  and  non-recognized 
groups  are  few  in  number,  and  the  great  establishments 
control  the  principal  religious  forces  of  German3\ 

The  German  religious  statistics,  unlike  our  own,  are 
given  in  great  masses.     For  1890  they  stand  as  follows: 

Protestants 31,026,810 

Roman  Catholics 17,674,921 

Other  Christians 145,540 

Jews 667,884 

Unclassified 13,315 

The  State  Churches  have  the  limitations  that  always 
surround  such  bodies.  These  are  reliance  on  the  govern- 
ment, and  lack  of  individual  initiative;  the  relegation  of 
Church  work  to  the  clergy  and  the  absence  of  an  active 
lay  element,  and  particularly  of  a  woman  element; 
the  supremacy  of  the  State;  the  tendency  of  religion  to 
lapse  into  routine  officialism, — in  a  word,  pronounced 
tendencies  towards  a  dead  indifferentism  in  faith  and  cold 
inertness  in  religious  life.  In  England  the  Established 
Church  is  vital  and  active,  largely  because  it  is  constantly 
stimulated  by  the  powerful  influence  of  Nonconformity, 
while  the  revenues  of  the  Church  are  by  no  means  suf- 
ficient for  its  purposes  and  it  is  compelled  to  appeal  con- 
stantly to  the  voluntary  principle.     The  case  is  very  dif- 


362  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

ferent  in  Germany:  Nonconformity  is  not  an  important 
factor  in  religious  affairs.  The  ministers  of  the  Evan- 
gelical Church  are  appointed  by  the  State,  and  to  a  great 
extent  paid  by  it,  a  dependence  that  tends  to  create  any- 
thing but  real  fitness  for  their  work.  Preaching  is  mainly 
expository  and  doctrinal,  tending  to  dulness,  and  not 
taking  much  hold  of  the  heart  and  the  life.  While  it 
must  not  be  supposed  that  there  are  no  religious  men  and 
no  piety  in  Germany,  it  is  still  a  fact  that  the  splendid 
liberality  and  activity  shown  by  the  voluntary  churches  of 
America  and  England  are  practically  unknown.  For 
instance,  there  is  not  a  parish  in  Berlin  belonging  to 
either  one  of  the  Established  Churches  that  would,  for  a 
moment,  think  it  could  build  a  church  for  itself  Is  it 
not  the  business  of  the  State  to  build  churches?  Accord- 
ingly German  piety  is  about  as  incomprehensible  to  an 
American  as  American  piety  is  to  a  German. 

Again,  since  the  two  great  Churches  are  a  part  of  the 
government,  the}'  share  the  opposition  that  is  made  to 
the  government.  In  the  eyes  of  the  discontented  classes, 
ministers  and  the  Church  are  no  better  than  the  rest  of 
the  State  machinery.  Religion  necessarily  becomes 
a  part  of  politics.  The  Catholics  and  Conservatives 
are  strongly  religious,  or  rather  ecclesiastical,  while  men 
of  progressive  views  in  politics  commonly  tend  more  or 
less  to  liberalism,  unbelief,  or  atheism.  The  current 
socialism  is  almost  wholly  atheistic. 

The  bearing  of  these  facts  on  the  sterility  of  the 
religious  instruction  given  in  the  schools  .should  be 
evident  to  the  dullest  mind,  at  least  outside  of  Germany. 
To  the  Socialists,  for  example,  the  teachers  who  give  the 
instruction  in  theological  dogmas  and  Bible  lessons  are 
teaching  what  they  consider  the  most  odious  part  of  the 
system   of  oppression   under  which  they  groan.     They 


RELIGIOUS  INSTRUCTION  IN  GERMAN  SCHOOLS.      363 

rebel  at  the  thought  of  having  such  lessons  forced  down 
the  throats  of  their  children  with  the  policeman's  sabre. 

Secondly,  the  unbelief,  indifferentism,  and  inertia  that 
are  so  characteristic  of  German  religion  also  mark  the 
teaching  of  religion  in  the  schools.  Probably  some  im- 
moral persons  find  places  and  hold  places  in  the  schools; 
far  larger  is  the  number  who  are  rationalistic  or  atheistic  in 
their  opinions;  while  largest  of  all  is  the  class  that,  what- 
ever their  formal  religious  status  may  be,  have  no  real 
heart  in  this  part  of  their  work.  The  grand  result  is  that, 
while  there  are  many  really  religious  teachers,  and  much 
excellent  teaching,  the  system,  as  a  whole,  tends  to  dull 
routine  and  perfunctory  officialism.  Not  long  ago  a 
Jewess  advertised  in  one  of  the  Berlin  papers  for  pupils  as 
a  private  teacher,  putting  in  the  list  of  her  qualifications 
this  one — that  she  could  teach  any  religion  that  might  be 
desired!  Even  a  pious  man  may  be  forgiven  for  shaking 
his  sides  at  such  monstrous  absurdity,  but  it  is  a  legiti- 
mate result  of  the  State's  attempting  to  teach  religion 
after  the  German  fashion.  To  the  majority  of  pupils 
' '  religion ' '  becomes  merely  a  study,  like  arithmetic  or 
geography;  they  "  take  it,"  as  they  take  mathematics  or 
science;  and  although  they  may  acquire  some  facts  in  so 
doing,  and  so  receive  some  mental  enlightenment,  their 
hearts  are  not  warmed  or  their  wills  strengthened  thereby. 
The  Saxon  course  states :  ' '  With  the  attainment  of  a  clear 
understanding  of  a  doctrine,  comes  the  awakening  of  a 
moral,  religious  feeling. ' '  This  is  so  unmistakably  erron- 
eous that  the  Saxon  pedagogists  should  not  have  fallen 
into  the  error. 

Lastly,  the  connection  between  teaching  dogmas,  or 
abstract  lessons  of  any  kind,  and  real  life  is  by  no  means  as 
intimate  as  the  majority  of  men  suppose.  If  there  are  any 
lessons  in  the  world  that  will  wither  under  mere  routine  or 


364  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION, 

formal  teaching;  if  there  are  any  lessons  that,  to  be  fruit- 
ful, must  be  touched  by  the  influence  of  a  warm  heart  and 
a  good  life,  they  are  morals  and  religion.  The  concrete 
precedes  the  abstract;  example  is  better  than  precept;  life 
is  more  than  theory.  Still,  these  facts  are  in  practice 
constantly  ignored  or  forgotten.  In  the  face  of  a 
uniform  experience  that  character  is  formed  and  life 
shaped  by  personal  influences  far  more  than  by  for- 
mal didactic  instruction,  multitudes  of  men  constantly 
assume  that  the  catechism,  the  lesson-leaf,  the  sermon, 
and  the  Bible  are  the  great  factors  in  moral  and  reli- 
gious training. 

Not  very  long  ago  it  was  commonly  thought  that  the 
public  school  was  a  powerful  moral  safeguard  of  the  indi- 
vidual and  of  society.  And  so  it  is.  Still,  we  are  coming 
to  see  that  nothing  is  easier  than  to  exaggerate  the  moral 
value  of  school  studies.  The  fact  is  that  the  ethical  bearing 
of  general  studies  upon  men  is  by  no  means  as  direct  and 
powerful  as  some  have  been  wont  to  think.  Something 
more  than  the  spelling-book  and  the  arithmetic  is  necessary 
to  make  good  men  and  women.  A  further  mistake  that  we 
have  yet  to  correct  is  this — that  we  have  also  overestimated 
the  spiritual  value  of  moral  and  religious  ideas,  simply  as 
intellectually  apprehended  and  received.  There  can  be 
no  greater  pedagogical  mistakes  than  the  assumptions 
that  the  intellectual  perception  of  a  doctrine  or  truth 
is  necessarily  followed  by  the  corresponding  feelings, 
and  that  the  feeling  when  aroused  necessarily  mani- 
fests itself  in  conduct.  Sound  doctrine  is  indeed  im- 
portant; but  all  history  bearing  on  the  subject  tells  us 
that  it  is  futile,  and  even  absurd,  to  send  a  man  into 
a  pulpit  or  a  school  to  preach  to  men  or  teach  them,  no 
matter  what  the  doctrine  may  be,  unless  he  is  morally 
superior  to  his  audience  or  class. 


RELIGIOUS  INSTRUCTION  IN  GERMAN  SCHOOLS.     365 

I  am  far  from  saying  that  religious  instruction  in  the 
schools  of  Germany  is  not  productive  of  good  results. 
Undoubtedly,  it  is  productive  of  such  results.  Perhaps, 
in  the  existing  state  of  things,  the  course  in  religion  is 
indispensable.  But  it  is  evident  that  it  is  not  accomplish- 
ing the  results  that  its  authors  expect  from  it,  and  that  it 
never  can  accomplish  them.  This  has  been  practically 
admitted,  at  least  as  to  the  first  statement,  by  the  Prussian 
government  itself.  The  Kmperor-king  and  his  ministers 
are  now  seeking  to  carry  through  the  Diet  an  educational 
bill  that  contains  features  relating  to  religious  instruction 
in  schools  besides  which  those  enumerated  above  are  mere 
child's  play.  Its  fate  is  doubtful,  but  the  great  argument 
that  is  urged  in  its  favor  is  that  more  stringent  measures 
are  necessary  in  order  to  check  the  rising  tides  of  atheistic 
socialism.  Count  Von  Caprivi,  the  Prime  Minister,  has 
said  in  debate:  "The  question  before  us  is  not  one  of 
Protestantism  against  Catholicism,  but  of  Christianity 
against  Atheism.  There  is  a  spirit  abroad  which  makes 
itself  daily  more  and  more  felt,  and  which  is  peculiarly 
visible  in  the  schools  of  Berlin — the  spirit  of  Atheism. 
With  a  purely  moral  education  not  founded  on  Christian 
principles,  we  would  have  but  little  success  with  the 
children  of  the  people.  We  have  before  us  a  struggle 
with  the  spirit  of  unbelief,  which  is  not  necessarily  identi- 
cal with  the  social  democracy.  In  face  of  this  great 
danger,  we  desire  at  least  to  erect  a  barrier.  Do  not,  I 
pray  you,  by  agitation  excite  the  masses,  who  are  not 
capable  of  judging  on  this  question.  In  face  of  this 
danger,  Germans  will  learn  to  live  together  in  peace. 
We  shall  soon  see  whether  the  bill  passes,  and  if  it  passes 
we  shall  see  later  whether  the  remedy  proposed  cures  the 
disease,  or,  as  is  far  more  probable,  still  further  aggra- 
vates it. 


366  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION'. 

There  is,  to  be  sure,  another  side  to  the  question.  Omit- 
ting the  Catechism  and  the  more  dogmatic  parts  of  the  Bib- 
lical teaching,  the  Saxon  course  would  be  an  admirable  one 
in  many  respects  to  introduce  into  the  schools  of  the  United 
States.  The  argument  that  would  justify  it,  however, 
would  relate  to  history  and  literature  quite  as  much  as  to 
morals  and  religion.  The  Bible  is  a  great  book  of  litera- 
ture and  history.  It  is  the  classic  of  the  most  cultiv'ated 
parts  of  the  world.  It  has  furnished  to  letters  a  vast 
number  of  themes  and  an  enormous  amount  of  thought- 
material  and  inspiration.  Its  geographj',  scenery,  events, 
and  language  have  passed,  literally  or  symbolically,  into 
the  vocabulary  of  Christendom.  None  save  those  who 
have  made  it  the  subject  of  somewhat  careful  study,  are 
aware  how  far  the  very  forms  of  our  thoughts,  as  well  as 
the  thoughts  themselves,  have  come  to  us  from  the 
Bible.  In  an  historical  and  literary  point  of  view,  it  is 
therefore  little  less  than  a  calamitj'  that  the  youth  of  the 
land  should  grow  up,  as  so  many  of  them  are  now 
doing,  in  comparative  ignorance  of  its  contents.  There 
is  indeed  no  good  reason  for  rating  highly  the  value  of 
such  formal  religious  instruction  as  can  be  given  in 
public  schools.  Still,  the  ethical  value  of  such  a  course  as 
the  foregoing,  with  the  emendations  suggested,  would  be 
something,  perhaps  considerable,  and  particularly  if  teach- 
ers, not  making  this  element  obtrusive,  should  leave  the 
lessons  to  carry  their  own  morals.  Whether  or  not,  under 
existing  conditions,  such  a  course  could  be  successfully 
introduced,  is  quite  another  question. 


XIX. 
EDUCATION  IN  SWITZERLAND. 


HE  month  of  August  witnessed  some  notable 
Swiss  anniversaries.  On  the  first  of  the 
month  the  Confederation  celebrated  the  sixth 
centennial,  and  on  the  fifteenth  the  City  of 
Bern  the  seventh,  centennial  of  its  foundation.  Everybody 
who  paid  serious  attention  to  these  celebrations  must  have 
reflected  that  the  position  of  Switzerland  in  history,  and 
in  the  current  life  of  the  world,  is  much  more  important 
than  her  territory,  her  population,  and  her  natural 
resources  would  demand,  or  perhaps  even  justify;  and 
the  time  has  not  too  far  gone  by  to  offer  some  remarks 
upon  one  of  the  causes  that  have  produced  this  disparity 
and  so  tended  to  make  the  celebrations  significant. 

The  break  down  of  the  Roman  Empire  left  considerable 
culture  in  Switzerland  that  the  floods  of  barbarism  never 
wholly  swept  away.  The  Irish  monks,  who  were  the 
evangelists  of  education  as  well  as  of  religion,  visited  this 
country,  as  the}'  did  so  many  others  of  Western  Europe. 
St.  Gall,  so  famous  in  the  histor};-  of  both  letters  and  piety, 
was  founded  in  the  eighth  century  by  Columban's  disciple 
of  that  name.  Switzerland  also  received  her  share  of 
advantage  from  the  liberal  educational  ideas  and  policy  of 
Charlemagne,  of  whose  vast  empire  it  was  a  part.  And 
all  along  the  way  from  that  time  to  this,  century  by 
century,  we  find  interesting  facts  in  the  history  of  Swiss 
culture,  as  the  humanistic  training  of  Zwingle,  the  Swiss 

1  Geneva,  October,  1891. 

367 


368  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

reformer  and  friend  of  Erasmus,  and  the  founding  of  the 
Universities,  which  have  borne  such  an  honorable  part 
in  the  work  of  liberal  education.  Still,  we  find  nothing 
that  gives  the  Swiss  an  exceptional  educational  standing 
until  we  near  the  close  of  the  last  century.  Rousseau, 
citizen  of  Geneva  and  author  of  "  Emile,"  quickened 
educational  thought,  especially  on  the  French  side  of  the 
Confederacy.  But  it  was  Pestalozzi  who  really  ushered 
in  the  new  era.  Seizing  the  bold  ideas  that  form  the 
heart  of  the  sense-realistic  school  of  pedagogy,  this  great 
reformer  made  Stanz,  Burgdorf,  Neuhof,  and  Yverdon 
classic  names  in  the  annals  of  human  culture,  and  gave 
popular  education  an  immense  impetus,  not  only  in 
Switzerland,  but  all  over  the  civilized  world.  Frcebel, 
with  all  his  mysticism,  stands  for  that  enlargement  of  the 
same  ideas  which  have  become  so  potent  a  factor  in  the 
kindergarten  methods,  and  Father  Girard,  "The  Catholic 
Pestalozzi,"  to  whose  noble  memory  a  statue  has  been 
dedicated  at  Freiburg,  while  not  the  equal  of  the  other 
two,  completes  the  trinity  of  great  Swiss  pedagogists. 
Withal,  far-seeing  statesmen  have  given  the  thoughts 
of  these  great  thinkers  practical  realization  instate  polic3^ 
No  country  is  more  thorough!}'  committed  to  public  edu- 
cation of  the  highest  order.  It  should  also  be  observed 
that  the  more  progressive  Cantons  have  recently  recon- 
structed their  school  systems,  introducing  many  foreign 
ideas. 

Education  in  Switzerland  is  a  matter  of  both  Federal 
and  Cantonal  concern.  These  are  the  provisions  of  the 
Federal  Constitution  in  regard  to  the  subject: — 

The  Confederation  has  a  right  to  establish,  besides  the  existing 
Polytechnic  School,  a  Federal  University  and  other  institutions 
of  higher  instruction,  or  to  subsidize  institutions  of  such  nature. 

The  Cantons  provide  for  primary  instruction,   which  shall  be 


EDUCATION    IN    SWITZERLAND.  369 

sufficieut,  aud  shall  be  placed  exclusively  under  the  direction  of 
the  secular  authority.  It  is  compulsory  and,  in  the  public  schools, 
free. 

The  public  schools  shall  be  such  that  they  may  be  frequented 
by  the  adherers  of  all  religious  sects,  without  any  offense  to  their 
freedom  of  conscious  or  of  belief. 

The  Confederation  shall  take  the  necessary  measures  against 
such  Cantons  as  shall  not  fulfill  these  duties. 

A  delay  of  five  years  is  allowed  to  Cantons  for  the  establishment 
of  free  instruction  in  primary  public  education.^ 

The  constitution  of  1848  authorized  the  foundation  and 
maintenance  of  a  National  Polytechnic  School  and  a  Na- 
tional University.  The  first  was  founded  in  1855,  one  of 
the  foremost  in  the  world,  but  no  steps  have  been  taken  to 
found  the  second.  The  Polytechnic  School  met  an  actual 
want;  while  the  existing  Cantonal  universities  were  not 
only  sufficient  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  country,  but  they 
were  supported  by  interests  too  powerful  o  permit  the 
establishment  of  a  formidable  competitor.  It  will  be 
seen  that  the  Swiss  constitution,  unlike  our  own,  which 
is  wholly  silent  upon  the  subject  of  education  and  schools, 
declares  that  the  Cantons  shall  make  primary  instruction 
sufficient,  compulsory,  and  free.  And  yet  the  states- 
rights  principle  is  vigorous.  The  declaration  that  the 
secular  authority  shall  control  the  pitblic  schools,  and  that 
they  shall  be  such  that  they  may  be  attended  by  the 
adherents  of  all  religious  sects,  are  explained  by  the 
religious  divisions  of  the  country,  past  and  present,  and 
by  the  growth  of  the  secular  spirit.  The  schools  are  thor- 
oughly secularized.  No  ecclesiastical  or  clerical  person  is 
allowed  to  teach  in  the  State  schools. 

The  provision  in  regard  to  compulsion  is  first  found  in 
the  Federal  Constitution  of  1874,  but  it  had  appeared  in 
the  constitution  of  Bern  as  early  as  1846,     Any  one  who 

*  Article  27,  and  Temporary  Provision,  Article  4. 


37©  STUDIES    IX    EDUCATION. 

has  observed  the  difficulty  with  which  compulsory  educa- 
tion is  made  effective,  particularly  in  democratic  states, 
and  who  also  reflects  on  the  manifest  disadvantages  that 
a  federal  government  attempting  that  task  must  encounter, 
cannot  help  asking  what  steps  the  Swiss  government  has 
taken  in  this  direction,  and  what  success  has  attended 
them.  The  fact  is,  it  has  never  attempted  directly  to 
enforce  this  clause,  but  has  left  coercion  mainly  to  the 
Cantons.  This  is  partly  because  the  Cantons  have  shown 
a  commendable  zeal  in  the  matter,  and  partly  because  it 
would  be  very  difficult  to  procure  the  necessary  Federal 
legislation  in  the  first  place,  and  still  more  difficult  to  en- 
force it  afterwards.  Indirectly  something  is  done,  a  good 
deal,  in  fact.  The  laws  in  regard  to  the  employment  of 
children  in  certain  kinds  of  manufacturing  establishments, 
like  similar  legislation  in  England  and  America,  have  an 
educational  bearing  and  effect.  But,  more  than  this,  the 
constitution  binds  every  Swiss  citizen  who  is  not  dis- 
qualified to  perform  military  service,  and  the  Federal  law 
creates  an  effective  system  of  instruction  and  drill.  The 
existing  law  requires  a  literary  as  well  as  a  medical 
examination  of  all  j^oung  men  on  attaining  their 
majorit}',  thus  creating  a  strong  safeguard  against  popu- 
lar ignorance.  Mr.  Vincent  puts  the  case  very  mildly 
in  his  late  work  on  the  Swiss  Government  when  he  says 
that  by  "  examinations  the  state  of  primary  educa- 
tion in  the  various  Cantons  is  exhibited,  and  by  the  publi- 
cation of  the  .statistics  an  honorable  rivalry  in  this  field  is 
encouraged.'"  He  should  have  added  that  such  recruits 
as  are  found  wanting,  are  required  to  make  up  their  de- 
ficiencies, and  that  special  instruction  is  provided  for  this 
purpose.  In  1882  it  was  proposed  to  add  a  Secretar}'  of 
Education  to  the  number  of  secretaries  constituting  the 

'  State  and  Federal  Government  of  Switzerland,  p.  92. 


EDUCATION    IN    SWITZERLAND. 


371 


Federal  Executive;  the  people,  on  its  submission  to  them, 
votsid  it  down,  and,  such  is  the  opposition  to  strengthening 
the  Confederacy  at  the  expense  of  the  Cantons,  there  is 
little  probability  of  the  attempt  being  renewed. 

The  annual  reports  of  the  educational  examinations  of 
recruits  are  interesting  documents  in  more  respects  than 
one.  The  report  of  the  examinations  held  in  the  Autumn 
of  1890,  now  before  me,  contains  40  quarto  pages.  In 
addition  to  the  statistical  tables  showing  the  results 
throughout  the  Confederation  by  Cantons  and  districts, 
we  find  considerable  valuable  discussion,  and  a  double- 
page  chart  showing  the  larger  facts  in  color.  Quite 
marked  differences  in  the  education  of  the  people  appear. 
The  best  Cantons  compare  favorably  with  the  States  of 
North  Germany.  While  the  German  and  the  French 
Cantons,  other  things  being  equal,  are  on  the  same  foot- 
ing, the  Italian  Cantons  fall  far  into  the  rear.  The  con- 
trast between  the  Protestant  and  the  Catholic  Cantons,  is 
pronounced.  Not  only  do  the  Protestant  Cantons,  as 
a  rule,  surpass  the  Catholic,  but  in  the  latter  the  edu- 
cational standard  is  higher  in  tlie  proportion  that  they 
have  been  touched  by  modern  progressive  influences. 
Zurich,  for  example,  makes  an  excellent  showing;  but 
that  Canton,  whose  educational  institutions  date  from  the 
reign  of  Charlemagne,  contains  the  largest  cit}^  in  the 
Confederation,  and,  next  to  Geneva,  has  the  densest  popu- 
lation. Protestant  controversialists,  noticing  the  general 
contrast  between  the  two  classes  of  Cantons,  have  been 
prompt  to  ascribe  it  solely  to  religion.  But  it  should  be 
observ^ed  that  the  Catholic  Cantons  are  commonly  the 
more  mountainous,  the  le.ss  thickly  populated,  the  poorer, 
and  the  more  backward.  These  facts  should  not  be 
separated;  they  afford  an  excellent  example  of  the  inter- 
action of  social  forces,  or  of    the  mutuality  of  cause  and 


372  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

effect.     Change  any  one  of  these  factors,  and  you  change 
all  the  others. 

The  Educational  Year  Book  for  1889  shows  21,689 
pupils  in  kindergartens,  425,012  in  primary  schools, 
34,817  in  continuation  schools  and  schools  for  recruits, 
27,254  in  secondary  schools,  and  10,845  in  private  schools 
of  various  kinds.  The  total  Volkssclndstuffe  was  547,928 
pupils.  The  continuation  schools  {^Fortbildimgschiden) , 
held  mainly  on  evenings  and  Sundays,  afford  pupils  who 
have  left  the  primary  schools  an  opportunity  to  carry 
their  studies  two  or  three  years  further.  The  same  j^ear 
there  were  in  the  so-called  middle  schools — normal  schools, 
gymnasia,  industrial  schools,  etc. — 19,182  students,  and 
in  the  higher  institutious  3,611.  The  grand  total  is  568,- 
721.  How  many  of  these  are  foreigners  cannot  be  told; 
but  were  the  necessary  subtraction  made,  the  showing 
would  still  be  a  striking  one. 

Equally  creditable  to  the  Swiss  are  their  educational 
expenditures.  The  Cantons,  including  the  Federal 
appropriation  for  the  Polytechnicum,  appropriated  12,- 
972,262  francs;  the  local  authorities  {Gemeinden) ,  17,103,- 
814  francs,  or  a  total  of  30,076,081  francs.  Of  this  sum 
nearly  19,000,000  francs  went  to  the  primary  schools,  and 
something  more  than  4,000,000  to  the  secondary  schools. 
In  other  words,  primary  education,  the  country  over, 
cost  40  francs,  and  secondary  education  151  francs,  to 
the  scholar.  Such  Cantons  as  Uri,  Schwyz,  and  Unter- 
walden-Nied  expend  but  3  francs  per  inhabitant  for  edu- 
cation; but  Ziirich,  Shaffhausen,  and  Basel  15,  16,  and 
24  francs  respectively.  The  small  expenditures  go,  of 
course,  with  the  sparse  and  small  populations.  The  aver- 
age for  the  Confederation  is  a  little  more  than  10  francs 
per  inhabitant. 


EDUCATION    IN    SWITZERLAND. 


zn 


It  will  be  seen  that  the  scope  of  Swiss  education  is 
modern  and  comprehensive.  Particular  attention  is  paid 
to  the  practical  applications  of  knowledge,  as  the  tech- 
nical, pol3-technic,  and  industrial  schools  show.  The 
schools  of  horolog}',  of  which  there  are  several,  illustrate 
how  a  leading  industry  affects  education.  The  noble 
Polytechnicum  at  Ziirich  has  a  hundred  professors  and 
instructors  and  992  students.  The  seven  higher  institu- 
tions have  434  professors  and  instructors  and  3,554  stu- 
dents and  auditors. 

Perhaps  the  force  of  the  presentation  will  be  increased 
by  narrowing  the  view.  Basel-Stadt,  which  is  co-exten- 
sive with  the  City  of  Basel,  contains  10  square  miles  and 
a  population  of  74,247  souls.  In  1889  it  had  11,405 
pupils  in  ]/olksschulen,  2,376  in  middle  schools,  and  455 
in  higher  schools,  making  a  total  of  14,536.  She  ex- 
pended for  education  the  same  j^ear  1,804,108  francs,  or 
about  S360,000,  Nor  does  this  take  into  account  what 
Basel  contributes  by  the  way  of  the  Federal  treasury. 
lyCt  it  be  particularly  noted  that  this  little  State  supports 
a  celebrated  universit}',  having  four  faculties,  70  profes- 
sors and  instructors,  and  more  than  450  students.  Geneva, 
also,  which  has  no  doubt  exercised  a  wider  influence  than 
any  other  city  of  its  size  since  Athens,  makes  a  showing 
that  is  very  difQcult  to  parallel. 

Pains  are  taken  that  teachers  shall  be  qualified  for  their 
work,  and  that  their  work  shall  be  well  done.  Every 
teacher  must  have  a  normal-school  training.  A  .diploma 
from  an  authorized  school  of  this  rank  is  a  certificate  to 
teach  in  the  elementary  schools.  Government  inspection 
is  universal,  extending  to  private  schools  as  well  as  public. 
Bern,  with  100,000  children  in  her  primary  schools,  em- 
ploy's twelve  inspectors,  who  are  appointed  by  the  Cantonal 
council  on  the  nomination  of  the  minister  of  education. 


374  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

As  there  are  25  Cantons  and  half-Cantons,  each  with  its 
own  independent  government,  there  are  25  school  systems. 
With  many  divergencies,  the  systems  of  the  best  Cantons, 
like  our  best  States,  tend  to  uniformity'  of  organization 
and  machinery.  Some  Cantons  have  councils  and  minis- 
ters of  education;  some  have  councils  and  no  ministers, 
and  some  ministers  and  no  councils.  The  ministers, 
where  they  are  found,  are  always  members  of  the  Can- 
tonal Executive  Councils;  for  it  must  be  remembered  that 
in  Switzerland  there  are  no  presidents  and  governors.  The 
teaching  body  has  a  decided  influence  upon  educational 
administration,  but  the  minister  is  usualh'  a  politician 
and  not  a  teacher.  Books  and  courses  of  study  are 
uniform  throughout  the  Canton. 

The  schools  are  immediately  controlled  by  the  Cantonal 
government,  or  by  boards  similar  to  our  boards  of  educa- 
tion; but  both  councils  and  boards,  particularly  in  the 
more  democratic  Cantons,  are  closely  limited  in  power  by 
the  popular  assemblies.  Teachers  are  sometimes  chosen, 
as  in  Geneva,  b}'  the  executive  council;  sometimes  b}'  the 
local  board,  as  in  the  City  of  Bern;  sometimes  by  the 
people  themselves,  as  in  many  rural  districts.  In  Bern 
the  election  is  for  six  j-ears.  A  high  authority  tells  me 
that  in  this  Canton  the  teacher's  tenure  is  good  when 
once  he  is  elected,  but  that  first  elections  are  sometimes 
controlled  by  other  considerations  than  fitness.  For  ex- 
ample, he  saj'S  when  the  people  elect,  the  teacher  is  pretty 
apt  to  belong  to  the  churchof  the  majorit5\  This  gentleman 
condemns  the  popular  elections  of  teachers,  as  he  does  also 
the  furnishing  of  books  by  the  State,  which  is  sometimes 
done,  and  the  teaching  of  more  than  one  language  in  the 
primar}'  schools. 

Measured  by  American  standards,  salaries  are  low. 
No  elementary  teacher  in  Bern  receives  as  much  as  ?1,000, 


EDUCATION    IN    SWITZERLAND. 


375 


and  many  receive  less  than  S200.  However,  a  majority 
of  teachers  are  furnished  a  house,  a  piece  of  ground,  and 
wood,  in  addition  to  the  salary  set  down  in  the  list.  Then 
the  preference  for  male  teachers  is  strong  throughout  the 
Confederac}-;  even  in  the  primar}^  schools  there  are  6,180 
male  teachers  to  2,970  females.  In  the  secondary  schools 
the  respective  numbers  are  1,168  and  205.  In  the  pri- 
mary schools,  at  least,  no  difference  is  made  in  salary  on 
account  of  sex.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  whole 
scale  of  incomes  and  expenditures  is  low  in  Switzerland 
as  compared  with  the  United  States.  Members  of  the 
Federal  Legislature  receive  but  20  francs  a  day;  members 
of  the  Federal  Executive  but  12,000  francs  a  5'ear.  The 
maximum  university  salary  is  12,000  francs,  the  min- 
mum  300  francs,  while  the  average  ranges  from  3,156 
francs  in  Ziirich  to  4,580  in  Basel. 

Such  is  an  imperfect  sur\'ey  of  one  of  the  groups  of 
facts  that  rendered  the  August  anniversaries  important 
events.  Switzerland  has  an  area  of  about  16,000  square 
miles,  and  a  population  of  about  3,000,000  souls.  To- 
gether, Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  and  Rhode  Island 
are  somewhat  less  in  size,  and  somewhat  more  in  popula- 
tion. An  educational  parallel  between  the  Confederation 
and  the  three  States  would  be  extremely  interesting. 
This  certainly  would  appear  in  both  cases,  that  the 
essential  elements  of  greatness  in  States  are  not  material 
but  spiritual. 


XX. 

THE    BACKWARDNESS    OF    POPULAR 
EDUCATION   IN  ENGLAND.^ 


WO  facts  stand  out  with  prominence  in  mod- 
ern educational  history.  The  first  is  that 
England  has  been  very  slow  to  enter  on  that 
general  movement  towards  universal  educa- 
tion which  is  one  of  the  most  significant  facts  of  recent 
times.  The  other  is  that  England  has  also  been  very 
backward  in  respect  to  the  organization  of  such  education 
as  she  has  had.  To  an  extent  these  are  but  different  as- 
pects of  one  grand  fact.  Had  the  efiiciency  of  public 
education  at  any  time  equaled  that  of  Scotland,  Germany, 
the  United  States,  or  France,  it  would  have  compelled 
more  order  and  system;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  a 
properly  organized  and  administered  system  would  have 
carried  instruction  to  a  far  greater  height.  It  is  not  easy 
to  say  in  which  particular  the  inferiority  of  England  is 
the  more  marked.  Whatever  the  truth  may  be,  it  will 
conduce  to  a  good  understanding  of  the  state  of  things 
that  long  existed,  and  that  has  not  yet  been  wholly 
changed,  to  state  some  of  the  more  important  causes  that 
produced  it. 

The  first  thing  to  be  considered  is  the  English  Church. 
The  Protestant  Reformation  gave  education  and  schools 
an  enormous  impulse.  '  *  The  Reformed  religion  rests  on 
a  book,  the  Bible,"  De  Eaveleye  has  said.  "The  Pro- 
testant therefore  must  know  how  to  read.     .     .     .     Cath- 


» London,  May,  1892. 


376 


THE  BACKWARDNESS  OF  EDUCATION   IN  ENGLAND.    377 

olic  worship,  on  the  contrary,  rests  upon  sacraments  and 
certain  practices,  such  as  confession,  masses,  sermons, 
which  do  not  necessarily  involve  reading. ' '  In  England 
alone,  of  all  the  countries  where  it  prevailed,  the  Reforma- 
tion marks  no  real  educational  era.  Much  of  the  explanation 
of  this  anomaly  is  found  in  the  character  of  the  Anglican 
Church  and  in  the  manner  of  its  establishment.  The 
Church  of  England  was  a  compromise.  Anglicanism  lays 
less  emphasis  than  other  Protestant  bodies  upon  preaching 
and  teaching,  and  more  upon  rites,  ceremonies,  and  tradi- 
tion. Its  appeal  to  the  aesthetic  nature  is  more  direct  and 
powerful,  but  its  appeal  to  the  intellect  is  less  so.  Ac- 
cordingly, high  popular  intelligence  is  less  important. 
Parliament  is  supreme  alike  over  creed  and  canons. 
Church  government  is  from  above,  not  from  below;  the 
laity  have  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the  appointment 
and  the  installation  of  their  ministers.  Furthermore,  the 
English  Church  originated  largely  in  State  questions  and 
policies,  and  its  form  was  shaped  far  more  by  the  Crown 
and  Parliament  than  by  the  people  themselves.  Angli- 
canism did  not  touch  the  springs  of  the  national  life  in 
England  as  Calvinism  and  lyUtheranism  did  in  Scotland 
or  in  Northern  Germany. 

Dissent,  however,  prevailed  from  the  very  beginning, 
and  tended  to  increase  as  time  went  on.  As  a  rule.  Dis- 
senters have  taken  far  more  interest  than  Churchmen  in 
the  education  of  the  masses,  but  the  constantly  multiply- 
ing ecclesiastical  and  theological  divisions,  begetting 
different  educational  ideas,  as  well  as  great  sectarian 
strife  and  bitterness,  have  tended  powerfully  to  retard  the 
erection  of  a  State  system  of  schools. 

The  second  fact  to  be  considered,  and  one  closely  con- 
nected with  the  one  just  dismissed,  is  the  original  genius 
of  English  society  and  the  English  government.     This  is 


378  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

aristocrac3^  Until  recent  5'ears  the  freedom  of  which 
England  so  well  boasted  rested  on  an  aristocratic  rather 
than  a  democratic  basis.  It  was  the  great  barons  and  the 
Church  dignitaries  who  resisted  John  and  wrung  from 
him  the  charter  of  1215.  Afterwards  the  middle  classes 
were  slowly  admitted  to  a  participation  in  political 
affairs;  but  it  was  not  until  the  Reform  Bill  of  1832  that 
the  center  of  gravity  in  the  English  system  began  to 
shift,  and  even  then  it  shifted  so  slowly  that  the  nation 
was  not  democratized  until  the  great  Enfranchisement  Act 
of  1867.  And  still  there  is  no  other  country  in  Europe 
where  education  is  so  distinctly  organized  on  class  lines. 
The  third  fact,  which  lies  behind  and  conditions  both 
the  others,  is  the  character  of  the  English  mind.  It  is 
common  for  Continental  writers  to  berate  Englishmen  for 
their  practical  mental  habit  and  their  lack  of  ideas.  M. 
Guizot,  for  example,  said  whoever  observed  with  some 
degree  of  attention  the  genius  of  the  English  nation, 
would  be  struck,  on  the  one  hand,  by  its  steady  good 
sense  and  practical  ability  and,  on  the  other,  by  its  want 
of  general  ideas  and  of  elevation  of  thought  on  theoretical 
questions.  M.  Taine  depicts  this  aspect  of  the  English 
mind  at  much  greater  length  and  in  much  stronger  lan- 
guage. "The  interior  of  an  English  head,"  he  says, 
"  may  not  unaptly  be  likened  to  one  of  Murray's  Hand- 
books, which  contains  many  facts  and  few  ideas;  a 
quantity  of  useful  and  precise  information,  short  statisti- 
cal abridgments,  numerous  figures,  correct  and  detailed 
maps,  brief  and  dry  historical  notices,  moral  and  profitable 
counsels  in  the  guise  of  a  preface,  no  view  of  the  subject  as 
a  whole,  none  of  the  literary  graces,  a  simple  collection  of 
well-authenticated  documents,  a  convenient  memorandum 
for  personal  guidance  during  a  journey."  And  again: 
' '  The  word  '  to  organize, '  which  dates  from  the  Revolu- 


THE  BACKWARDNESS  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ENGLAND.    379 

tion  and  the  First  Empire,  exactly  summarizes  the  facul- 
ties of  the  French  mind,  the  success  of  well  ordered  and 
distributive  reason;  the  vast  and  happy  effects  of  the  art 
which  consists  in  simplifying,  classifying,  subtracting.^ 

The  Germans  are  even  less  appreciative  of  the  English 
mind,  or  at  least  of  English  philosophy,  than  the  French. 
The  pragmatical  mental  habit  of  the  English,  they  make 
a  constant  gibe.  "Bacon's  name,"  says  Max  Miiller, 
' '  is  never  mentioned  by  German  writers  without  one 
provision,  that  it  is  only  by  a  great  stretch  of  the  meaning 
of  the  word,  or  by  courtesy,  that  he  can  be  called  a  philos- 
opher. ' '  The  Englishman  retorts  that  the  Germans  are 
dreamy  andmystical.  Matthew  Arnold  was  always  lament- 
ing the  small  interest  that  his  countrymen  took  in  ideas. 

Perhaps  the  Continental  writers,  as  M.  Taine,  indulge 
in  some  exaggeration;  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
they  lay  their  fingers  on  characteristic  features  of  the 
English  mind.  The  typical  Englishman  delights  in  facts 
and  precedents;  he  is  strongly  attached  to  things  accom- 
plished, but  extremely  shy  of  things  unaccomplished;  he 
has  no  love  of  comprehensive  theories,  general  views,  and 
abstract  principles;  he  dreads  innovation;  he  has  great 
talent  in  patching  up  old  systems,  but  no  talent  or  liking 
for  setting  up  brand  new  ones.  Lord  Melbourne  was  a 
typical  Englishman;  he  belonged  to  the  Whig,  or  so- 
called  Liberal,  party;  and  one  of  the  characteristic  anec- 
dotes of  him  is  that,  when  Prime  Minister,  he  invariably 
met  the  innovators  who  came  to  him  with  novel  ideas  and 
schemes  of  reform  with  the  question,  "Can't  you  let  it 
alone?" 

The  national  genius  is  seen  in  all  the  characteristic 
features  of  England.     It  is  the  country  of  incongruities, 

*  Notes  on  England,  XXIX.  Characteristics  of  the  English 
Mind. 


380  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION. 

contradictions,  solecisms,  and  legal  fictions.  No  country 
better  illustrates,  in  the  social  and  political  sphere,  the 
continuity  of  evolution,  the  persistence  of  growth;  in 
no  country  are  there  fewer  traces  of  the  theorist,  the 
doctrinaire,  the  codifier,  or  the  S5'stem-maker;  in  no 
country  is  a  knowledge  of  history  more  necessary  to 
enable  one  to  understand  the  existing  order  of  things.  In 
fact,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  understand  what  is  with- 
out understanding  /low  it  came  to  be.  Mr.  Fylfe,  speaking 
of  the  Universities,  remarks: 

Observers  accustomed  to  the  system  and  regularity  of  cen- 
tralized states  on  the  Continent  have  often  noticed  with  some  sur- 
prise how  in  England  institutions  of  an  old,  and  even  an  obselete, 
type  are  allowed  to  continue  in  existence  after  others  more  in 
accordance  with  the  needs  of  the  time  have  sprung  up  by  their 
side.  Revolution  has  never  cleared  the  ground;  corporations  are 
powerful:  the  public  indulgent  or  illogical.  And  so  it  happens 
that  while  the  creating  or  reforming  work  of  an  epoch  of  change 
abroad  may  be  expressed  almost  by  figures  and  dimensions,  in 
England  we  have  to  tell  how  one  feature  or  another  of  some 
venerable  but  narrow  edifice  is  made  tolerable  for  modern  use; 
how  the  designs  of  a  middle  time  are  developed  or  enlarged;  and 
in  what  form  the  workmen  of  our  day  have  in  their  turn  added  to 
the  inheritance  of  the  past.  True  for  English  institutions  gener- 
ally, this  is  peculiarly  true  of  our  Universities.  ^ 

"Revolution,"  used  by  Mr.  FyfFe,  is  a  peculiarly  sug- 
gestive word  in  this  place.  At  present  the  tendency  of 
historians  and  social  philosophers  is  to  belittle  revolutions 
and  almost  to  abolish  them;  "evolution"  and  not  "revo- 
lution" is  now  the  vogue;  "institutions  are  not  made," 
we  are  told,  "they  grow."  Such  is  the  tendency  of 
thought,  and  it  is  partly  the  effect  and  partly  the  cause  of 
the  wide  use  of  the  historical  method.  It  may  be  ques- 
tioned whether  this  tendency  is  not  over-strong;  whether 

»  The  Universities.      In   T.   H.   Ward's    The  Rei,e:n  of  Queen 

Victo-ria,  Vol.  IT.,  p.  288. 


THE  BACKWARDNESS  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ENGLAND.   381 

the  new  school  is  not  too  much  rounding  off  the  corners 
of  the  old  "epochs,"  "  periods  "  and  "ages;"  whether 
there  are  not  facts  that  are  not  held  by  the  flowing 
curves  of  the  popular  writers  on  ' '  the  unity  ' '  and  ' '  the 
continuity  of  history. "  However  this  may  be,  English- 
men have  more  reason,  at  least  historically,  for  adopting 
the  new  view  than  men  of  the  Continent.  It  is  a  long 
time  now  since  the  foot  of  a  hostile  soldier  has  touched 
English  soil;  a  long  time  since  a  battle  has  been  fought 
within  her  borders;  a  long  time  since  the  State  has  been 
torn  by  such  feud  or  faction  as  required  force  for  its  sup- 
pression. Society  has  not  been  disturbed  b}^  violent  con- 
vulsions since  the  Civil  War;  the  course  of  history  has 
been  one  of  orderly  development;  which,  again,  is  partly 
the  result  and  partly  the  cause  of  the  prevailing  mental 
habit.  The  Restoration  was  peacefully  effected ;  the 
Revolution  was  accomplished  on  the  legal  theory  that 
nothing  had  been  done  but  to  elect  a  new  king  in  the  room 
of  the  old  one  who  had  abdicated  the  throne;  Reform  has 
made  its  way  from  one  victory  to  another,  not  indeed 
without  strong  opposition,  but  without  armed  resistance. 
Still  the  Revolution  of  1789  stands  for  more  than  words 
can  tell  in  Europe,  and  most  of  all  in  France.  It  is  not 
an  accident  that  M.  Taine  is  able  to  connect  "to  or- 
ganize ' '  with  the  Revolution  and  the  First  Empire.  At 
least,  who  can  tell  how  different  social,  political,  and  edu- 
cational history  might  have  been  in  England,  had  the  coun- 
try been  exposed  to  the  storms  of  war  that  have  swept 
the  countries  across  the  Channel  and  the  German  Ocean. 
Mr.  Andrew  Lang  begins  his  delightful  ' '  Historical 
and  Descriptive  Notes  of  Oxford"  with  a  description 
that  applies  to  the  University  almost  as  well  as  to  the  City. 

Most   old  towns  are  like  palimpsests,  parchments  which  have 
been  scrawled  over  again  and  again  by  their  successive  owners. 


382  STUDIES    IN    EDUCATION, 

Oxford,  though  not  one  of  the  most  ancient  of  English  cities, 
shows  more  legibly  than  the  rest  the  hand-writing,  as  it  w-ere,  of 
many  generations.  The  convenient  site  among  the  interlacing 
waters  of  the  Isis  and  the  Cherwell  has  commended  itself  to  men 
in  one  age  after  another.  Each  generation  has  used  it  for  its  own 
purpose;  for  war,  for  trade,  for  learning,  for  religion;  and  war, 
trade,  religion,  and  learning  have  left  on  Oxford  their  peculiar 
marks.  No  set  of  its  occupants,  before  the  last  two  centuries 
began,  was  very  eager  to  deface  and  destroy  the  buildings  of  its 
predecessors.  Old  things  were  turned  to  new  uses,  or  altered  to 
suit  new  tastes;  they  were  not  overthrown  and  carted  away.  Thus, 
in  walking  through  Oxford,  you  see  everywhere,  in  colleges, 
chapels,  and  churches,  doors  and  windows  which  have  been 
builded  up;  or  again,  openings  which  have  been  cut  where  none 
originally  existed.  The  upper  part  of  the  round  Norman  arches 
in  the  Cathedral  has  been  preserved,  and  converted  into  the 
circular  buH's-eye  lights  which  the  last  century  liked.  It  is  the 
same  everywhere,  except  where  modern  restorers  have  had  their 
way.  Thus  the  life  of  England,  for  some  eight  centuries,  may  be 
traced  in  the  buildings  of  Oxford. 

The  English  Secondary  Schools  exhibit  the  same  incon- 
gruities and  inconsistencies,  the  same  blending  of  the 
antique  and  the  modern,  that  are  found  in  the  Univer- 
sities, though  perhaps  not  to  the  same  degree.  And 
much  the  same  is  true  of  the  Elementary  Schools  also,  at 
least  as  regards  their  organization  and  machinery. 

Still  another  fact  to  be  considered  is  that  elementary 
education  was  long  the  exclusive  work  of  individuals  and 
of  voluntary  associations.  It  was  not  until  1870  that  the 
Government  took  it  vigorously  in  hand,  and  by  that  time 
an  organization  had  been  developed  too  powerful  for  Gov- 
ernment, so  at  least  it  thought,  to  disturb.  Even  then 
the  State  did  not  dispense  with  the  institutions  which 
individuals  and  private  bodies  had  created,  but  rather  sup- 
plemented, extended,  and  nationalized  them.  Professor 
Bryce  thus  illustrates  the  relation  of  the  State  and 
National  Governments  in  the  American  system: 


THE  BACKWARDNESS  OF  EDUCATION  IN  ENGLAND.    383 

The  central  or  National  government  and  the  State  govern- 
ments may  be  compared  to  a  large  building  and  a  set  of  smaller 
buildings  standing  on  the  same  ground,  j-et  distinct  from  each 
other.  It  is  a  combination  sometimes  seen  where  a  great  church 
has  been  erected  over  more  ancient  homes  of  worship.  First  the 
soil  is  covered  by  a  number  of  small  shrines  and  chapels,  built  at 
diflFerent  times  and  in  different  styles  of  architecture,  each  com- 
plete in  itself.  Then  over  them  and  including  them  all  in  its 
spacious  fabric  there  is  reared  a  new  pile  with  its  own  loftier  roof, 
■  its  own  walls,  which  may  perhaps  rest  on  and  incorporate  the 
walls  of  the  other  shrines,  its  own  internal  plan.* 

This  happy  simile  is  no  bad  description  of  the  sj-stem 
created  by  the  Elementary  Education  Acts.  Consider- 
able parts  of  the  ground  previous  to  1870  were  covered  by 
.small  and  independent  systems;  these  have  been  connected, 
the  remaining  parts  of  the  ground  covered,  and  the  whole 
incorporated  into  the  sj^stem  that  now  exists.  A  full 
description  of  this  system  would  be  a  somewhat  trying 
task.  It  is  hard  for  a  foreigner,  studying  at  a  distance, 
to  understand  it.  This  is  owing  partly  to  the  fact  that  it 
is  a  growth,  and  not  a  structure  reared  according  to  any 
general  plan;  partly  to  the  extraordinary  variety  and  con- 
fusion of  elements;  and  partly  to  the  breadth  of  histor}' 
one  is  compelled  to  traverse. 

The  course  of  events  in  the  Northern  Kingdom  was 
very  different  from  that  in  England.  Scotland  early 
showed  that  tendency  to  abstract  thought  which  is  so 
strongly  marked  in  the  national  character.  The  Protes- 
tant Reformation  gave  Scotland  a  great  impulse.  The 
type  of  theology  that  came  into  the  ascendant  greatly 
stimulated  the  popular  intelligence.  No  appeal  to  the  Di- 
vine Word  could  be  more  direct  or  powerful  than  the 
appeal  made  by  Knox  and  his  compeers.  The  vScotch 
Reformation  began  below  and  not  above;  it  originated  and 

*  The  American  Commonwealth,  Part  I.,  Chap.  2. 


384  STUDIES   IN    EDUCATION. 

flourished  among  the  body  of  the  nation,  and  not  among 
high  civil  and  ecclesiastical  dignitaries;  in  a  word,  it  was 
democratic,  taking  firm  hold  of  the  very  roots  of  the 
national  life.  So  far  from  being  propagated  by  or  from,  the 
throne  and  the  bishop's  seat,  it  made  its  way  against  both 
and  finally  overthrew  them.  While  in  England  the  Papal 
supremacy  was  transferred  to  the  Crown,  in  Scotland  it  was 
destroyed,  and  the  government  of  the  Church  was  lodged 
ultimately  in  the  people  themselves.  While  he  was  still 
preaching  in  England,  before  he  entered  upon  his  great 
work  in  his  own  country,  Knox  contended  that  schools  for 
the  education  of  youth  should  be  erected  throughout  the 
nation.  It  was  natural  that,  as  soon  as  the  Reformers  began 
to  act  for  themselves,  they  took  care  to  provide  for  learning 
as  well  as  piety.  The  "  First  Book  of  Discipline,"  com- 
piled by  a  committee  of  which  Knox  was  one,  laid  out  a 
far-reaching  plan  quite  in  advance  of  the  times.  It  re- 
quired that  a  school  should  be  erected  in  every  parish  for 
the  instruction  of  youth  in  the  principles  of  religion,  gram- 
mar, and  the  Latin  tongue.  It  proposed  that  a  college 
should  be  established  in  every  "  notable  town,"  in  which 
logic  and  rhetoric  should  be  taught  along  with  the  learned 
languages.  The  regulations  of  the  framers  for  the  three 
National  Universities  discover  an  enlightened  regard  to 
the  interests  of  literature.  These  plans  were  not  fully 
carried  out;  but  even  as  matters  stood,  and  notwith- 
standing the  confusion  in  which  the  country  was  involved, 
learning  made  great  progress.  The  famous  Burgh  schools, 
which  have  done  so  much  for  the  country,  date  from  this 
period,  and  the  University  of  Edinburgh  was  the  child 
of  the  Reformation.^ 

^See  McCrie:  Life  of  Knox,  Period  VII. 


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